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A | |
Bill | |
To | |
Make provision about the circumstances in which, and the extent to which, a | |
man is to be treated in law as the father of a child where the child has resulted | |
from certain fertility treatment undertaken after the man’s death; and for | |
connected purposes. | |
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and | |
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present | |
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— | |
1 Certain deceased men to be registered as fathers | |
(1) After section 28(5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (c. 37) | |
(meaning of “father”) there shall be inserted— | |
“(5A) If— | |
(a) a child has been carried by a woman as the result of the placing | 5 |
in her of an embryo or of sperm and eggs or her artificial | |
insemination, | |
(b) the creation of the embryo carried by her was brought about by | |
using the sperm of a man after his death, or the creation of the | |
embryo was brought about using the sperm of a man before his | 10 |
death but the embryo was placed in the woman after his death, | |
(c) the woman was a party to a marriage with the man immediately | |
before his death, | |
(d) the man consented in writing (and did not withdraw the | |
consent)— | 15 |
(i) to the use of his sperm after his death which brought | |
about the creation of the embryo carried by the woman | |
or (as the case may be) to the placing in the woman after | |
his death of the embryo which was brought about using | |
his sperm before his death, and | 20 |
(ii) to being treated for the purpose mentioned in | |
subsection (5I) below as the father of any resulting child, | |
(e) the woman has elected in writing within the period of 42 days | |
beginning with the day on which the child was born for the man | |
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(e) to be treated for the purpose mentioned in subsection (5I) below | |
as the father of the child, and | |
(f) no-one else is to be treated as the father of the child by virtue of | |
subsection (2) or (3) above or by virtue of adoption or the child | |
being treated as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection | 5 |
(5) above, | |
then the man shall be treated for the purpose mentioned in subsection | |
(5I) below as the father of the child. | |
(5B) If— | |
(a) a child has been carried by a woman as the result of the placing | 10 |
in her of an embryo or of sperm and eggs or her artificial | |
insemination, | |
(b) the creation of the embryo carried by her was brought about by | |
using the sperm of a man after his death, or the creation of the | |
embryo was brought about using the sperm of a man before his | 15 |
death but the embryo was placed in the woman after his death, | |
(c) the woman was not a party to a marriage with the man | |
immediately before his death but treatment services were being | |
provided for the woman and the man together before his death | |
either by a person to whom a licence applies or outside the | 20 |
United Kingdom, | |
(d) the man consented in writing (and did not withdraw the | |
consent)— | |
(i) to the use of his sperm after his death which brought | |
about the creation of the embryo carried by the woman | 25 |
or (as the case may be) to the placing in the woman after | |
his death of the embryo which was brought about using | |
his sperm before his death, and | |
(ii) to being treated for the purpose mentioned in | |
subsection (5I) below as the father of any resulting child, | 30 |
(e) the woman has elected in writing within the period of 42 days | |
beginning with the day on which the child was born for the man | |
to be treated for the purpose mentioned in subsection (5I) below | |
as the father of the child, and | |
(f) no-one else is to be treated as the father of the child by virtue of | 35 |
subsection (2) or (3) above or by virtue of adoption or the child | |
being treated as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection | |
(5) above, | |
then the man shall be treated for the purpose mentioned in subsection | |
(5I) below as the father of the child. | 40 |
(5C) If— | |
(a) a child has been carried by a woman as the result of the placing | |
in her of an embryo, | |
(b) the embryo was created at a time when the woman was a party | |
to a marriage, | 45 |
(c) the creation of the embryo was not brought about with the | |
sperm of the other party to the marriage, | |
(d) the other party to the marriage died before the placing of the | |
embryo in the woman, | |
(e) the other party to the marriage consented in writing (and did | 50 |
not withdraw the consent)— | |
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(i) to the placing of the embryo in the woman after his | |
death, and | |
(ii) to being treated for the purpose mentioned in | |
subsection (5I) below as the father of any resulting child, | |
(f) the woman has elected in writing within the period of 42 days | 5 |
beginning with the day on which the child was born for the | |
other party to the marriage to be treated for the purpose | |
mentioned in subsection (5I) below as the father of the child, | |
and | |
(g) no-one else is to be treated as the father of the child by virtue of | 10 |
subsection (2) or (3) above or by virtue of adoption or the child | |
being treated as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection | |
(5) above, | |
then the other party to the marriage shall be treated for the purpose | |
mentioned in subsection (5I) below as the father of the child. | 15 |
(5D) If— | |
(a) a child has been carried by a woman as the result of the placing | |
in her of an embryo, | |
(b) the embryo was not created at a time when the woman was a | |
party to a marriage but was created in the course of treatment | 20 |
services provided for the woman and a man together either by | |
a person to whom a licence applies or outside the United | |
Kingdom, | |
(c) the creation of the embryo was not brought about with the | |
sperm of that man, | 25 |
(d) the man died before the placing of the embryo in the woman, | |
(e) the man consented in writing (and did not withdraw the | |
consent)— | |
(i) to the placing of the embryo in the woman after his | |
death, and | 30 |
(ii) to being treated for the purpose mentioned in | |
subsection (5I) below as the father of any resulting child, | |
(f) the woman has elected in writing within the period of 42 days | |
beginning with the day on which the child was born for the man | |
to be treated for the purpose mentioned in subsection (5I) below | 35 |
as the father of the child, and | |
(g) no-one else is to be treated as the father of the child by virtue of | |
subsection (2) or (3) above or by virtue of adoption or the child | |
being treated as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection | |
(5) above, | 40 |
then the man shall be treated for the purpose mentioned in subsection | |
(5I) below as the father of the child. | |
(5E) In the application of subsections (5A) to (5D) above to Scotland, for any | |
reference to a period of 42 days there shall be substituted a reference to | |
a period of 21 days. | 45 |
(5F) The requirement under subsection (5A), (5B), (5C) or (5D) above to elect | |
within a period of 42 days or (as the case may be) 21 days shall be | |
treated as satisfied if the required election is made outside that period | |
but with the consent of the Registrar General under subsection (5G) | |
below. | 50 |
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(5G) The Registrar General may at any time consent to the making of an | |
election outside the required period if, on an application made to him | |
in accordance with such requirements as he may specify, he is satisfied | |
that there is a compelling reason for giving his consent to the making of | |
such an election. | 5 |
(5H) In subsections (5F) and (5G) above “the Registrar General” means the | |
Registrar General for England and Wales, the Registrar General of | |
Births, Deaths and Marriages for Scotland or (as the case may be) the | |
Registrar General for Northern Ireland. | |
(5I) The purpose referred to in subsections (5A) to (5D) above is the | 10 |
purpose of enabling the man’s particulars to be entered as the | |
particulars of the child’s father in (as the case may be) a register of live- | |
births or still-births kept under the Births and Deaths Registration Act | |
1953 or the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order | |
1976 or a register of births or still-births kept under the Registration of | 15 |
Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965.” | |
(2) After section 29(3) of the Act of 1990 (effect of sections 27 and 28) there shall be | |
inserted— | |
“(3A) Subsections (1) to (3) above do not apply in relation to the treatment in | |
law of a deceased man in a case to which section 28(5A), (5B), (5C) or | 20 |
(5D) of this Act applies. | |
(3B) Where subsection (5A), (5B), (5C) or (5D) of section 28 of this Act | |
applies, the deceased man— | |
(a) is to be treated in law as the father of the child for the purpose | |
referred to in that subsection, but | 25 |
(b) is to be treated in law as not being the father of the child for any | |
other purpose. | |
(3C) Where subsection (3B) above has effect, references to any relationship | |
between two people in any enactment, deed or other instrument or | |
document (whenever passed or made) are to be read accordingly. | 30 |
(3D) In subsection (3C) above “enactment” includes an enactment | |
comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish | |
Parliament or Northern Ireland legislation.” | |
2 Consequential and supplementary provision | |
(1) The Schedule (which contains consequential amendments) shall have effect. | 35 |
(2) Section 1 of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 (c. 6) (power by order to make | |
provision reforming law which imposes burdens) shall have effect, for the | |
purposes of making a relevant calculation in relation to any amendment made | |
to the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 (c. 20) by or under this Act, as if | |
this Act and any order made under this Act were passed or made more than | 40 |
two years before it was passed or made. | |
(3) In subsection (2) “relevant calculation” means a calculation as to whether any | |
period is a period of, or of more or less than, two years. | |
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