Clause 39
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords]
5:30 pm
Dawn Primarolo (Minister of State (Public Health), Department of Health; Bristol South, Labour)
There are no inheritance issues here.
Clause 39 replaces, for future cases, provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Deceased Fathers) Act 2003. Those provisions relate to the use of a man’s sperm to create a child with his consent after he has died. The clause provides that, where a woman conceives a child using the sperm of a man who has died, or where an embryo was created with his sperm before he died, but was transferred to the woman after his death, and the man had consented to the use of his sperm in this way after his death and the woman who carried the child gives notice in writing within 42 days—or in Scotland, within 21 days—after the birth of the child that the man is to be the father, then the man is to be treated as the father of the child, for the purpose of birth registration alone. That applies whether the assisted conception treatment of the woman was in the UK or elsewhere. Clause 39(1)(d) encompasses the right of the woman to choose to record the man on the birth certificate, which is symbolic. The man will be deceased, and that is why the woman has the right to choose.
The difference between Scotland and England and Wales is connected to birth registration, which is a devolved matter. The provision in the Bill reflects the fact that the standard time period in each country for birth registration is different—before the hon. Gentleman asks me, I do not know why, but it is—and it reflects the difference on devolved matters. That is what we are seeking to ensure. It is a standard part of the HFEA’s consent forms to ensure that such consent has been given when embryos and gametes are stored. The measure builds on the Act to which I referred, which I hope clarifies—