Back in October, our clients Melanie and Robert Gladwin succeeded in winning a last minute change to the law on embryo storage, allowing them (and other prospective parents like them) to keep their precious frozen embryos. Their campaign included a petition presented...
Surrogacy
Department of Health consults on surrogacy law
Parents through surrogacy must apply to court for a ‘parental order’ after their child is born, making them the legal parents and extinguishing the status of their surrogate mother. Under the current law only married couples can apply, but Parliament decided last year...
NGA in the Evening Standard on the lack of maternity leave for mothers through surrogacy
The London Evening Standard has covered the lack of rights to maternity leave for mothers who have a child through surrogacy, and Natalie Gamble is quoted (read the Evening Standard article ‘Women who use surrogates in fight to claim maternity leave’). This is just...
Moving surrogacy law forward? The Department of Health’s consultation on parental orders – Article published in Bionews
Natalie has written a comment piece in this week's Bionews about the Department of Health's consulation on updates to the parental order regulations. Explaining what is in the proposed new regulations, the article looks at the parental order system as a whole and...
Considering the need for a father – Article published in Reproductive Biomedicine Online
Since 1991 UK fertility clinics have had a legal duty to consider the 'need for a father' of any child who may be born as a result of treatment. In an in-depth article for Reproductive Biomedicine Online, Natalie examines the origins of that legal requirement, how it...
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 comes into force today
Today marks an important step in English fertility law, with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 – the first major review of UK fertility law for 19 years – coming into force. Our website has been fully updated to take account of all the changes which...
Modern surrogacy in the UK – Article published in The Review
Natalie has written a guide to the basics of surrogacy for other UK family lawyers. Published in The Review, it sets out what surrogacy is, how parents find surrogates and what the law says, as well as giving a couple of case study examples. Read the full article...
Natalie Gamble at Reproductive Medicine 2009 conference
Natalie Gamble was delighted to speak at Reproductive Medicine 2009 yesterday. The conference was a two day event at the Institute of Physics in London, assembling leading clinicians and other professionals involved in assisted reproduction. Natalie was invited to...
Government bows to pressure on embryo storage rules – NGA victory and in the news
We welcome the Department of Health’s announcement today that embryos which exceed their five year storage period before 1 October 2009 will not now have to be destroyed (article in the Times today). We have been in contact with the Department of Health on this issue...
NGA quoted in the Sunday Times – Embryo storage law leaves some parents out in the cold
Natalie Gamble was quoted in the Sunday Times on 5 July (and in the Daily Mail on 6 July) on problems raised by the government’s proposed new embryo storage laws. Fertility law allows people facing medical treatment which will make them infertile to store eggs, sperm...