Clause 48
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords]
9:00 am
Mark Simmonds (Shadow Minister, Health; Boston and Skegness, Conservative)
I acknowledge that the proposals are probing amendments to elicit from the Minister the logic behind the clause, under which a deceased person is to be treated as the father for the purposes of being named on the birth certificate, but for no other reason. Will the right hon. Lady explain what the clause is trying to prevent? Presumably, the deceased person will be the biological father in some instances, so would not normal inheritance circumstances occur? The Minister was right to mention the other day that if someone wanted to leave something after their death to a subsequent child, they could do so in their will. That explains how someone can circumvent the problem, but not why the clause is in the Bill. For those members of the Committee who want to follow this argument, the two parts of the clause that I am particularly referring to are subsections (3)(b) and (4)(b). I would be grateful if the Minister explained the intention behind them.