Over 3.5 million people in the UK are thought to struggle with infertility.
Thankfully, modern science and technology have advanced significantly over the years, and more and more people are now able to become parents with minimal assistance by using donor eggs and sperm and assisted conception techniques like IVF.
To make sure you and your future children are protected while your fertility journey continues, it is crucial to think about the legalities whether you or anyone you know is on this road or considering starting a family.
The fertility professionals on the Complete Clarity family law team have years of experience treating a variety of donor conception and surrogacy issues gently, and we are completely aware of how delicate each case is. We will be by your side to support you through the entire process because we know from personal experience that it can be both an extremely exciting and a highly stressful moment.
IVF
Perhaps the most well-known assisted conception technique is in vitro fertilisation (IVF), one of numerous methods available to help people with reproductive issues conceive. In Scotland, you might be offered up to three IVF rounds if you fit the eligibility requirements.
In IVF, a physician will extract one or more eggs from the patient’s ovaries and fertilise them in a lab using sperm from a donor or intended father. The embryos are transferred to the lady after successful fertilisation in the hopes that a successful pregnancy would result.
To assist protect future fertility, you can be asked to have embryos frozen if the operation goes well. It’s crucial to think about what you might want to happen to the embryos if you and your spouse split up later on or if one of you dies. In either case, we can assist by making sure that the right consents are negotiated to guarantee that your desires are fulfilled and that they are formally stated in a separation agreement or, if necessary, specialised wills.
Donor Conception
The process of generating a child by self-insemination or fertility treatments like IVF that use donated sperm, eggs, or embryos is known as donor conception. Additionally, it may involve surrogacy, which we will discuss in more detail in our upcoming article.
Any child successfully born as a consequence of a formal sperm or egg donation does not recognise the donor as the legal parent. The donation must be made through official means, but rules are in place to safeguard all parties. Before donating, the donor will have undergone several medical examinations and be officially registered as a donor rather than the child’s parent.
The name of the donor will be unknown if you use donated eggs or sperm from a sperm or egg bank. All new HFEA-registered donors, or those registered with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, may, however, be identified to any conceived offspring when they turn 18 according to a 2005 legislative amendment. Because of this, it is crucial to think about whether you want to utilise or give sperm or eggs if you are uncomfortable doing so.
This legal reform has made it more common for people to look for well-known donors. This could be a friend or relative, and if the donor is well-known to the family, it frequently helps the intended parents with concerns they will have about them in the future. To take advantage of the legal protections that come with being a donor, it is still crucial that you make your gift in a professional clinic setting if you choose this path.
When the intended parents are aware of the egg or sperm donor, everyone involved must understand each other’s expectations before the procedure starts. It is advised that legal counsel be obtained right away to reduce the likelihood of disagreements later on, especially after the baby is born. This can be facilitated by a “Pre-Conception Agreement,” in which all parties discuss and agree on the arrangements they plan to make.
Obtaining “legal parental status”
Under section 33 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 2008, “mother” is defined. It declares that a woman who is carrying or has carried a child as a result of having an embryo (of sperm and eggs) placed in her is the child’s mother and that no other woman should be considered the child’s mother. Therefore, regardless of whether she is genetically related to the child or not, the woman who carried the child during pregnancy is legally the child’s mother.
The legal father of a child born to a heterosexual couple through assisted reproduction (including the use of donor sperm) is the mother’s spouse, often known as the “consenting partner,” unless he can prove he did not provide his consent. All of these are legal paperwork that the clinic will provide you.
Under the aforementioned 2008 Act, a child created through assisted reproduction may be considered to have you as the legal parents if you are a same-sex female couple. Unless she expressly agrees otherwise, the woman who bore the child will be regarded as the “mother” and her civil partner or spouse as the other “parent” if two women were married or in a civil partnership at the time of conception.
By giving her written approval at the time of treatment using the clinic’s consent papers, the woman who did not carry the kid can legally become a “parent” if the pair is not married but is living together. No guy should be regarded as the child’s father in either of these situations.
There are rights and obligations associated with being the child’s legal parents. These are mentioned in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and are referred to as parental rights and responsibilities (PRRs).
The parents should take the documentation from the clinic to their local registry office to have the birth recorded once the baby is born, provided that the procedure was performed at a licensed clinic and that all required consent forms were properly filled out.
Legal Advice for Surrogacy/Fertility Scotland Solicitors
It is crucial to understand the potential legal ramifications of your parenting path, regardless of where you are in your reproductive journey—whether you have already begun or are just weighing your options. Therefore, getting legal counsel as soon as feasible is essential. Complete Clarity will always be on your side.