Lesbian parents can both be called mother
Pastor Dale Morgan
Lesbian parents can both be called mother*
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 3:08am GMT 03/11/2007
UK - The concept of a two-mother family is to be enshrined in law for
the first time.
Experts say the new bill marks a historic change in how a family is
legally defined
The Human Tissues and Embryos Bill, to be announced in the Queen's
Speech next week, will give both women in a lesbian relationship the
legal status of parents when one of them gives birth following fertility
treatment.
Experts say this marks a historic change in how a family is legally defined.
The change was condemned by family campaigners as a "dangerous social
experiment" but supporters said it was "logical and just".
The Bill lays down that where two women are in a relationship and one
has fertility treatment in order to conceive then the partner should be
treated as the other "parent" even if they are not in a civil
partnership. In those circumstances no man — such as the sperm donor —
can be treated as a father, the Bill says, to avoid a child having three
legal parents.
The change reflects the fact that in a heterosexual couple when the
woman is inseminated with donor sperm the man is treated as the father
even though he has no biological link to the resulting child. Male gay
couples who have children via surrogate mothers or by adoption are not
covered by the new legislation.
The Bill says that where there is reference to the father of a child
such as on birth certificates this is to be read as reference to the
female parent who did not give birth.
It will also say for the first time that babies born through fertility
treatment do not need to have a father figure and parents will be banned
from choosing the sex of their child.
Campaigners said there was no substitute for a family unit in which
children are brought up with input from both mother and father.
Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said it was a dangerous
social experiment. "Men and women are not interchangeable and fathers
are not an optional extra."
Dr Anthony Cole, the chairman of the Medical Ethics Alliance, said: "It
doesn't seem right for the child not to have a father. There's strong
evidence that children, particularly boys, need a male influence in
their lives."
Bishops are concerned over the issue. The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt
Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, said in August, "Is it right for the state to
construct a system to bring children into this world without making
provision for their having a father?
"The Bill should be looking at how it can champion the role of fathers
in the context of fertility treatment more effectively."
Susan Freeborn, a barrister specialising in child law, said the change
would cause problems when civil partnerships break down.
"The mother of a child has always had unique status in the past but now
there will be two. It will be difficult then to determine which of the
'mothers' is the most important."
Ruth Hunt, of the gay rights charity Stonewall, said: "This recognises
that lots of gay people have children and make very good parents."
If passed, the Bill will also allow children born from donor sperm or
eggs to have limited access to information about other children from the
same donor.