UK: The law is halting the birth of a new era
Dr. Ian Gibson, chairman of the UK's House of Commons Science and
Technology Committee, comments on changes needed in the function of the
HFEA, which regulates fertility treatment in the UK. An excerpt from
this excellent article:
The 1990 Act has an infamous clause, which states that "a
woman shall not be provided with treatment services unless account has
been taken of the welfare of any child who may be born as a result of
the treatment (including the need of that child for a father) and of
any other child who may be affected by the birth".
Looking after the welfare of the child sounds like a good thing, but in
effect it enables the state to decide who is a fit parent.
We decided that this was discriminatory.
It means that infertile couples’ lives are scrutinised in a way that
fertile couples would regard as a gross invasion of their privacy.