Clause 39
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords]
5:30 pm
John Pugh (Shadow Minister, Treasury; Southport, Liberal Democrat)
I just want a simple clarification, but a more basic one. The clause states that if the man has agreed in advance and the woman chooses this within 42 days of the birth of the child, the man can be identified as the father of the child, provided, as the hon. Gentleman has said, that the woman is agreeable. If, as in that case, the sperm of a deceased person is being used, is there any limitation, whether biological, physical or legal, on how long that sperm could have been around? Theoretically, in legal terms we could be talking about a 10 or 15-year period and I wonder whether the law allows any possible period to be used. That could have significance for all sorts of inheritance issues.