What UK law says about what should happen to your eggs, sperm or embryos after you die.
http://www.nataliegambleassociates.co.uk/page/Posthumous-conception/44/ …
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
UK surrogacy law in summary
Excellent summary of UK surrogacy law by Bianca Jackson at Coram Chambers http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed127234 …
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Surrogacy: Have a legal plan before you go abroad
And meanwhile in Thailand, Israeli parents fight to bring surrogate children home.
http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_392661.asp?dinfo=s4bxPlX6JyiY4lkDzmBcekUg&PPID=393255 …
http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_392661.asp?dinfo=s4bxPlX6JyiY4lkDzmBcekUg&PPID=393255 …
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Good luck Beth Warren!
Widow's fight to keep husband's sperm continues...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/widow-begins-case-to-keep-dead-husbands-sperm-9100419.html …
Good luck Beth!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/widow-begins-case-to-keep-dead-husbands-sperm-9100419.html …
Good luck Beth!
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Monday, 9 December 2013
Widow fights to use husband's stored sperm.
Widow fights to use husband's stored sperm after statutory 10 year storage period expires http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25188341 …
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Known Donor and Co-Parenting Disputes
Thinking of becoming a parent through known donation or co-parenting? Be sure to set the right foundations http://www.nataliegambleassociates.co.uk/page/Known-donor-disputes/92/ …
Thursday, 28 November 2013
High Court rules in favour of parents through surrogacy, despite irregularities in the US
High Court rules in favour of parents through surrogacy, despite irregularities in the US http://www.nataliegambleassociates.co.uk/blog/2013/11/28/high-court-rules-in-favour-of-parents-through-surrogacy-despite-irregularities-in-the-us/ …
Friday, 25 October 2013
Health professionals and surrogacy agencies – last chance to contribute to Hague Conference’s work on surrogacy
We recently wrote for our blog about our evidence to the Hague Conference about whether international surrogacy should be regulated globally. The Hague has now asked us to help them make a final appeal for information, targeting health professionals and surrogacy agencies across the world. Here is their message:
The Hague Conference on Private International Law is currently seeking responses to two online Questionnaires on surrogacy. The deadlines for both have been extended to 8 November 2013:
• Health Professionals with experience in the field of assisted reproductive technology (ART), particularly those with experience of cross-border cases and international surrogacy arrangements. Click here to answer Questionnaire No 3 (Health Professionals).
• Surrogacy Agencies i.e. anyone who provides intermediary services in relation to international surrogacy arrangements. Click here to answer Questionnaire No 4 (Surrogacy Agencies).
The Hague Conference on Private International Law is a global inter-governmental organisation with 75 Members (74 countries and the European Union) which works to develop and service international treaties, including in the area of international child protection. The organisation is currently looking into the issues which may arise for children as a result of differing laws in countries concerning who are their legal parents. One area where this has become a particular problem is in the field of international surrogacy arrangements.
The responses to the two online Questionnaires will inform the writing of a report requested by Members of the Hague Conference on the topic of parentage / surrogacy and will facilitate Members’ consideration of whether the development of a new international treaty (i.e. a new Hague Convention) might be desirable and feasible. A new international treaty might include, for example, rules to ensure that the legal parentage of a child, established in one country, is recognised in all other countries which join the treaty. Such a treaty might also facilitate co-operation between countries concerning these matters and might set down minimum safeguards which must be complied with.
These questionnaires provide an important opportunity for those with relevant experience in this field to have their voice heard and to inform future work at the international level.
For more information see www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=183. For further information or word versions of the questionnaires, contact secretariat@hcch.net (Laura Martinez-Mora and Hannah Baker). If you are not a Health Professional or Surrogacy Agency but have relevant experience in this field to share, please let us know.
Monday, 21 October 2013
Natalie writes for Infertility Network UK magazine: Sperm donors given rights of contact – surely not?
Natalie writes a regular article for the magazine published for UK fertility patients by leading charity Infertility Network UK. Natalie’s article this quarter discusses sperm donation and the legal rights donors have if they want contact with their genetic offspring. Read: Sperm donors given rights of contact – surely not?
Infertility Network UK is the UK’s leading national infertility charity, dedicated to supporting everyone affected by infertility and leaders of the National Infertility Awareness Campaign for fair and equitable access to NHS funding for fertility treatment. You can find out more about the wonderful work I N UK does athttp://www.infertilitynetworkuk.com/ or come and meet them at the Fertility Show, taking place as part of National Infertility Awareness Week 28 October to 3 November.
If you want to know more about lesbian parenting or sperm donation law, there is more information on our website.
Friday, 15 March 2013
International surrogacy - UK High Court judge parenthood to non-British dads
The decision in Re A & B (Parental Order: Domicile) represents another landmark ruling for NGA – a parental order having been granted to a non-British gay couple following the birth of their son through Indian surrogacy last year.
The case not only clarifies the law for foreign but UK-resident parents conceiving through surrogacy, but also shows how same sex parents are being drawn to the UK’s open culture and law. We were proud to have supported the parents in this case through to successful conclusion, and once again to have helped make new law.
What happened?
The parents, who are American and Polish respectively, moved to the UK as a couple in 2008 (having registered their domestic partnership in California four years earlier). They were initially attracted to the UK by our unrivalled equal laws and gay rights – something they were not afforded in their respective home counties. Having decided to start a family, they found a surrogate through an agency in India and were delighted when their son was born in 2012. On their return to the UK they sought help from NGA to establish the non-biological dad’s parental status, which led to their application for a parental order (the legal solution following surrogacy, enabling both intended parents to become their child’s legal parents under UK law).
What does the law say?
In order to be eligible for a parental order, at least one of the intended parents must demonstrate to the court’s satisfaction that they are ‘domiciled’ in a part of the UK. Domicile for these purposes is more complex than simply where a person lives – it comes down to where their permanent roots and allegiances lie. This particular criterion (one of a number of strict requirements attached to the parental order) is designed to prevent foreign parents ‘forum shopping’, by using the UK court to grant them a more favourable legal solution than their own country might. The parents in this case therefore had to show that they had made the UK their permanent home and that, notwithstanding their American and Polish citizenship status, they had cut their ties with the US and Poland and did not intend to return.
What did the court consider?
In order to establish whether the parents in this case had met this high bar, the judge considered a number of factors in detail. She was particularly assisted by the parents’ statements, which outlined in detail their connections here (including that they ran a UK based company and both intended to apply for British citizenship at the earliest opportunity) and their affection for the UK including their very personal reasons for making it their home and the place that they raise their family, away from the discrimination abundant in their home countries. The judge went on to quote one of their reasons for not returning to the US, “We will never return and raise our son in a society in which schools may censor him from talking about his family”, as a factor which bolstered their contentions.
Why is this case significant?
Mrs Justice Theis reiterated in this case the importance, for non-British parents applying for a parental order, of demonstrating a clear intention to make the UK their permanent home – the court otherwise being powerless to make a parental order. The judge was also assisted by an independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding domicile by CAFCASS Legal, who found that the parents had abandoned their respective domicile of origins in favour of English domiciles of choice. This case (in addition to Z v C [2011]) provides helpful guidance for future non-British parents through surrogacy who hope to apply for a parental order.
What you need to know if you are not British, or are British and based abroad, and considering applying for a parental order
Domicile is a far-reaching principle of law and far from contingent on just one factor. Having dealt with the key cases which have tested the law on this, we would be happy to advise you on your eligibility to apply for a parental order, no matter what your circumstances. You can contact us here, or alternatively there is more information about domicile on our website.
What happened?
The parents, who are American and Polish respectively, moved to the UK as a couple in 2008 (having registered their domestic partnership in California four years earlier). They were initially attracted to the UK by our unrivalled equal laws and gay rights – something they were not afforded in their respective home counties. Having decided to start a family, they found a surrogate through an agency in India and were delighted when their son was born in 2012. On their return to the UK they sought help from NGA to establish the non-biological dad’s parental status, which led to their application for a parental order (the legal solution following surrogacy, enabling both intended parents to become their child’s legal parents under UK law).
What does the law say?
In order to be eligible for a parental order, at least one of the intended parents must demonstrate to the court’s satisfaction that they are ‘domiciled’ in a part of the UK. Domicile for these purposes is more complex than simply where a person lives – it comes down to where their permanent roots and allegiances lie. This particular criterion (one of a number of strict requirements attached to the parental order) is designed to prevent foreign parents ‘forum shopping’, by using the UK court to grant them a more favourable legal solution than their own country might. The parents in this case therefore had to show that they had made the UK their permanent home and that, notwithstanding their American and Polish citizenship status, they had cut their ties with the US and Poland and did not intend to return.
What did the court consider?
In order to establish whether the parents in this case had met this high bar, the judge considered a number of factors in detail. She was particularly assisted by the parents’ statements, which outlined in detail their connections here (including that they ran a UK based company and both intended to apply for British citizenship at the earliest opportunity) and their affection for the UK including their very personal reasons for making it their home and the place that they raise their family, away from the discrimination abundant in their home countries. The judge went on to quote one of their reasons for not returning to the US, “We will never return and raise our son in a society in which schools may censor him from talking about his family”, as a factor which bolstered their contentions.
Why is this case significant?
Mrs Justice Theis reiterated in this case the importance, for non-British parents applying for a parental order, of demonstrating a clear intention to make the UK their permanent home – the court otherwise being powerless to make a parental order. The judge was also assisted by an independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding domicile by CAFCASS Legal, who found that the parents had abandoned their respective domicile of origins in favour of English domiciles of choice. This case (in addition to Z v C [2011]) provides helpful guidance for future non-British parents through surrogacy who hope to apply for a parental order.
What you need to know if you are not British, or are British and based abroad, and considering applying for a parental order
Domicile is a far-reaching principle of law and far from contingent on just one factor. Having dealt with the key cases which have tested the law on this, we would be happy to advise you on your eligibility to apply for a parental order, no matter what your circumstances. You can contact us here, or alternatively there is more information about domicile on our website.
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