Fertility law
Written by Natalie Gamble and Louisa Ghevaert of Gamble and Ghevaert LLP.
If you are thinking about conceiving a child through assisted reproduction, it is important to consider the legal issues. Bear in mind that the law is complex (and not always logical) and was not designed to meet modern demands for donor conception, co-parenting and surrogacy. This frequently creates major legal pitfalls and potential problems and so if you are starting a family in a more unusual way, you should make sure that you:
- understand how your family will be affected legally
- ensure that the right people will have legal status as parents
- manage relationships and expectations carefully to avoid problems
Parliament introduced some important changes last year to treat same sex parents in the same way as heterosexual couples, and these changes are very welcome. However, the wider law governing legal parenthood in donor conception and co-parenting situations has not been updated to meet the increasingly diverse range of family structures and this often makes things confusing and difficult in practice.
The information on our fertility law pages has kindly been written for Pride Angel by leading fertility law experts Gamble and Ghevaert LLP. It is not an exhaustive statement of the law nor designed to be a substitute for legal advice on your own particular circumstances. For legal advice, we would recommend you contact Gamble and Ghevaert LLP at enquiries@gambleandghevaert.com or on 0844 357 1602.
Click the following links for further information on :