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11
Jan
2026

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law, Parenting law, Transgender law

Transgender Parenting & Children Law: FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025]

The recent transgender parenting case of FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam), in which Louisa Ghevaert Associates acted for the Applicant, highlights the complex legal issues and difficulties that can be encountered by transgender individuals building families and obtaining parental status, birth registration, parental responsibility, care and upbringing of children under English law. The complicated legal landscape can produce challenging outcomes for transgender individuals, that do not reflect their acquired gender nor their child and family's lived reality. In some cases, as this case further demonstrates, it can leave transgender individuals without automatic legal status and rights for their child altogether under English law and no automatic right to be registered as a parent on their child's British birth certificate.

18
Dec
2025

Blog, Declaration of Parentage, Donor conception law, Parenting law, Transgender law

FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam): Transgender Legal Parentage & Birth Registration Dispute

The case of FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam) brings into focus legal difficulties encountered by a transgender man with a Gender Recognition Certificate in obtaining legal parenthood and birth registration for two children in England and Wales. It tested the law for the first time on whether he could be lawfully registered as father on his second child’s birth certificate following his wife’s privately arranged artificial conception with donor sperm outside of a licensed UK fertility clinic. It also necessitated a claim for Judicial Review to quash his incorrect registration on his first child’s birth certificate, there being no statutory power to enable the Registrar General to register afresh without leaving the initial registration manually struck through on the register of births and deaths. Louisa Ghevaert Associates acted for the Applicant (Claimant) in this case.

28
Nov
2025

Blog, embryo law

Preimplantation Embryo Gene Editing: Is This A Step Forward?

There have been recent news reports that a US startup has raised tens of millions of dollars to fund research into preimplantation embryo gene editing to prevent serious hereditary genetic diseases. This startup from San Francisco, called Preventive, has the backing of giants in technology like Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) and Brian Armstrong (CEO of cryptocurrency platform Coinbase). However, pushing the boundaries of human reproduction through preimplantation embryo gene editing has serious ramifications. It is not as simple as saying this technology, responsibly and safely applied, could cure hereditary genetic diseases and enable people to live longer and healthier lives.

31
Oct
2025

Blog

National Fertility Awareness Week 2025

Held annually since 2013, National Fertility Awareness Week was founded by the charity Fertility Network UK to raise awareness of those struggling with fertility issues. This year, National Fertility Awareness Week will be held from 3 - 7 November, and the theme is “Every Voice, Every Journey”, which seeks to highlight the voices and experiences of those 3.5 million people in the UK who are struggling with fertility issues. Given the traumatic effect infertility can have on an individual and/or couple, it is important to maximise reproductive choice and make informed decisions about family building, fertility treatment and alternative pathways to parenthood which includes IVF, Surrogacy or Sperm/Egg Donation.

16
Oct
2025

Blog, Parenting law

National Adoption Week 2025

National Adoption Week (20-26 Oct) promotes diverse pathways to parenthood through adoption, from agency adoptions to step-parent adoptions and assisted conception, highlighting benefits for children and families.

13
Oct
2025

Blog, Modern family law, Parenting law

Baby Loss Awareness Week 2025

Every year, all across the UK, thousands of families come together on 15 October, the final day of Baby Loss Awareness Week to light a candle for the ‘Wave of Light’. This event is organised by the Baby Loss Charity Sands (Still and Neonatal Death), to honour and pay respects to all babies who died too soon. The ‘Wave of Light’ is a beautiful commemoration of every family’s story of experiencing baby loss, of every broken heart and every lost son, daughter, brother and sister. The chance to come together provides an opportunity to foster a sense of closeness and intimacy, and to combat the isolation that so often accompanies such a traumatic loss. In this way, those grieving the loss of their baby know that they are not alone, that they have each other- that there is a sense of camaraderie and solidarity.

01
Oct
2025

Blog, fertility law, News

Breast Cancer and BRCA Genes: The Impact on Fertility

October is breast cancer awareness month, designed to promote widespread education about one of the most common cancer diagnoses. In fact, it is the most common cancer in women, or people assigned female at birth, with around 56,000 cases diagnosed annually in the UK. Therefore, each year during October fundraising projects take place such as the ‘wear it pink’ campaign where people don pink clothing or a pink ribbon to symbolise solidarity with breast cancer patients and to raise money for cancer research.

24
Sep
2025

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law, News, Posthumous conception law, Surrogacy law

British Fertility Society’s Creating Modern Families Day 2025

The British Fertility Society Creating Modern Families Day took place on 23 September 2025 in London as part of BFS Study Week. It delivered an excellent multi-disciplinary training programme that was well attended by fertility clinicians, embryologists, nurses, counsellors and other fertility professionals. Louisa Ghevaert was delighted to be invited back as a speaker to give a surrogacy law update and take part in a lively question and answer panel addressing complex fertility and family law issues in practice.

15
Sep
2025

Blog, fertility law, Modern family law, News

World Contraception Day & Reproductive Choice

World Contraception Day takes place annually on 26 September. It was launched in 2007 as a global campaign to raise awareness about contraception and empower proactive management of sexual and reproductive health and family planning. However, access to contraception and its use are governed by a range of legal, political, religious, health and lifestyle factors and varying degrees of regulation, restrictions and uptake around the world. As such, the benefits and challenges associated with contraception raise a number of issues and create variable outcomes in practice, particularly in terms of women's bodily autonomy and ability to make informed and independent choices about their lives, health, fertility and the conception and birth of children.

10
Sep
2025

Blog, Donor conception law, fertility law, Posthumous conception law

Stand Up To Cancer Day 2025 And The Impact On Male Fertility

Stand Up To Cancer Day takes place on 12 September 2025 with the aim of raising awareness about the impact of cancer, its available treatments, and the importance of funding cancer research. This national day was launched in the UK in 2012, following the success of the US Stand Up To Cancer charity formed in 2007, and it provides a platform for real life cancer stories and fundraising for research and clinical trials. As such, 12 September provides an important opportunity to highlight the various ways cancer can affect so many of our lives: 1 in every 2 people. This includes testicular and prostate cancer and its symptoms and relevant treatment. It also includes the consequent impact on individual fertility and the importance of effective strategies for fertility preservation and family building including sperm banking, donor conception, adoption and posthumous conception.

09
Sep
2025

Blog, Transgender law

‘So Little Consensus and So Little Trust’; Gender Dysphoria, Cross-Sex Hormones and Finding the Balance Between A Child’s Wishes and Best Interests

O v P and Q [2024] EWCA Civ 1577 is a case centred around Q, a transgender young person, and the realities and struggle faced by his parents trying to do what is best for him. It highlights the real-world worries of parents with transgender children, of trying to make them happy, safe and seen, and at the same time seeking to protect their wellbeing and safety and ensure that they don’t make a decision they will come to regret. It also touches on the wider, political and ideological debate about transgenderism, featuring the conflict among those in a policy-making position, and the lack of medical evidence and consensus regarding the treatment of trans-youth in the UK.

05
Sep
2025

Blog, Modern family law, Surrogacy law

UK Surrogacy: The Issue of Consent Following a Surrogate’s Traumatic Brain Injury Giving Birth

The case of R & Anor v A & Anor [2024] EWFC 341 involved a domestic (UK) surrogacy arrangement where intended parents sought a parental order without their surrogate's consent. Specifically, the English Family Court was asked to dispense with the surrogate's consent due to a lack of capacity following a traumatic brain injury giving birth. It serves as a sad example about some of the medical risks and complex legal issues that can arise during and after a surrogate pregnancy and birth and demonstrates the importance of legal safeguarding for all parties (surrogate, child and intended parents).

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