Law & Policy Timeline: Fertility & Family Law & Genomics

Continuing into 2024, since February 2023, Louisa Ghevaert has been a member of the Advisory Board for the international Expanded Carrier Screening Research Project led by Dr Cathy Herbrand at De Montfort University, Leicester together with Professor Nicky Hudson at De Montfort University, Professor Pascal Borry at the University of Leuven, Professor Bronwyn Parry at King’s College London and Professor Zosia Miedzybrodzka at the University of Aberdeen entitled, “Reproduction in the age of genomic medicine: the emergence , commercialisation and implications of preconception expanded carrier screening (ECS)”.

On 7 February 2024 Louisa Ghevaert attends Progress Educational Trust’s informative event on the HFEA’s new IVF ‘Add-Ons’ ratings system entitled “IVF Add-Ons: How Should We Score the HFEA’s New Ratings System?”. It looked at the development, understanding, evidence and use of IVF ‘Add-Ons’.

On 22 February 2024 Louisa Ghevaert delivers a webinar hosted by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) entitled “Surrogacy: What Do Midwives Need To Know?” to ensure midwives are aware of the current framework around surrogacy in the UK, and proposed changes, to enable them to provide appropriate care and support.

On 14 March 2024, Louisa Ghevaert attends FemTech Lab ’24 Connect event in London. It brought together creative minds, leaders, experts and entrepreneurs from across the digital and female health and consumer spaces. Its mission is to foster vision, inspiration, change, solutions and impact across the women’s health and technology sectors.

On 17 April 2024, Louisa Ghevaert attends Progress Educational Trust’s event “Mary Warnock at 100: The Architect of Embryo Law”. This event looked at the continued influence of Baroness Mary Warnock DBE, one of our most significant twentieth century philosophers, in the field of fertility.

Louisa Ghevaert attends the Fertility Show at London Olympia over 18 – 19 May 2024, which brought together a range of experts from around the world all committed to improving fertility and healthcare outcomes.

Louisa Ghevaert attends Resolution’s Modern Families Forum 2024 on 20 June 2024 and had the privilege of meeting Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond DBE and listening to her keynote address on the legal recognition of “family” from the 1960s to present day.

Louisa Ghevaert features in The Guardian on 18 August 2024 highlighting some of the legalities around rectifying an inaccurate or incomplete birth certificate and DNA testing in “Rise in DNA testing being used to claim citizenship of other countries”.

Louisa Ghevaert attends BioNews’ 25th Birthday Celebration in London (4 September 2024) hosted by Progress Educational Trust. This invitation-only event was attended by leading experts and supporters from across the fertility, medical, scientific and academic sectors. It included speeches looking at which developments in fertility, genomics and embryo research will have the greatest impact over the next twenty five years, as well as the presentation of the inaugural Marcus Pembrey BioNews Writing Prize.

Louisa Ghevaert is quoted in the Mail On Sunday about the numbers and legalities of single men and men over 50 (and 60) applying to have children through surrogacy in “Single men over 60 are increasingly applying to have children with help from surrogates since law change” (15 September 2024).

Louisa Ghevaert is an invited expert speaker at the British Fertility Society’s Modern Families Day on 17 September 2024, addressing the legal aspects of surrogacy and providing a surrogacy law and policy update for clinicians, nurses and specialists across the fertility sector.

Re G v Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority & Anor [2024] EWHC 2453 (Fam), raises important legal and factual issues about posthumous conception that have not previously been considered by the English Court. Louisa Ghevaert was instructed by the applicant mother (“G”). This case concerned the storage and use of a young woman’s eggs, who tragically died in June 2023 within six months of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. The case was brought by her mother, who sought permission to use her deceased daughter’s 20 frozen eggs to have a genetically related baby through surrogacy. The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, ruled that she could not do so because there was a lack of explicit written consent from her daughter. However, this legal ruling is important because the President concluded for the first time that the law does allow a relative, such as a mother, to use a deceased’s frozen gametes (eggs or sperm) after their death to have a baby with a surrogate provided the deceased person has given written consent on a prescribed form (30 September 2024).

Louisa Ghevaert is interviewed on 8 national BBC Radio Stations on 23 October 2024 discussing issues and legalities associated with prenatal DNA testing and other forms of DNA testing. Read more in “BBC News: DNA testing and the Law, ‘I could have lost my child’ after flawed DNA test” (Louisa Ghevaert Associates’ blog, 29 October 2024).BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC Radio Lincolnshire, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, BBC Radio Guernsey, BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and BBC Radio West Midlands.

On 23 October 2024, Louisa Ghevaert attends Progress Educational Trust’s event “Whole Genome Sequencing at Birth: Implementing The Generation Study”. Read more in “Newborn Genome Sequencing At Birth: The Generation Study Progress Update” (Louisa Ghevaert Associates’ blog 4 November 2024).

On 20 November 2024, Louisa Ghevaert attends Progress Educational event “10 Years of Womb Transplants: What Have We learned? What Does the Future Hold?”. This fascinating event looked at the important and pioneering uterine transplant work that has been undertaken over the last 10 years, starting with the world’s first successful human womb transplant and live birth in September 2014. Since then, there have been more than 135 uterus transplants around the world, including news of the UK’s first womb transplant in 2023.

Louisa Ghevaert attends the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing held at the Francis Crick Institute, London (6 – 8 March 2023), organised by the Royal Society, the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, the US National Academies of Sciences and Medicine and the World Academy of Sciences. The Summit facilitated a global discussion on somatic and germline genome editing, including developments in clinical trials and genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9.

Louisa Ghevaert attends The Surrogacy Network (20 April 2023) in London to hear from The Law Commission on their proposals for surrogacy law reform in the UK and participate in the debate on the future practice of surrogacy and how to improve the pathway to parenthood for parents, children and families.

Louisa Ghevaert attends the American Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) Huntingdon Beach, California, Annual Conference (30 April – 2 May 2023); which offered a full programme of legal sessions addressing current issues across the adoption and assisted reproduction sectors. This included a legislative update, covering the last year since the US Supreme Court delivered its regressive decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health [2022]. sessions on the US Constitution and Federal Respect for marriage, the future of three or more parent families through adoption and assisted reproductive technology, malpractice, professional responsibility and ethics and disparity in healthcare, fertility fraud and “Donor Fraud Legislation”.

Louisa Ghevaert attends and joins the debate at the 2nd International Surrogacy Forum from 8 -9 June 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The theme of the Forum was “Global surrogacy in a changing world – ethical. practical and legal developments in assisted reproduction and cross-border parenthood”.

Louisa Ghevaert attended Decoding the Future of Women 2023, a health tech conference, on 12 June 2023 during London Tech Week. Its mission was to positively change the FemTech sector by re-framing the narrative and addressing key issues and themes. What does the future hold for women? What does future fertility, longevity, scientific discovery and sustainability look like?

BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour “Listener Week: Psychedelics, Peripheral friendship, Posthumous Conception, Beach Guardian”. Louisa Ghevaert joins presenter Anita Rani and parent Lauren McGregor to discuss the legalities of posthumous conception (24 August 2023). Read more here.

Louisa Ghevaert is an invited expert speaker at the British Fertility Society’s Study Week Creating Modern Families Module on 12 September 2023. This addresses the legal aspects of surrogacy and provides a surrogacy law and policy update for clinicians, nurses and specialists across the fertility sector.

Louisa Ghevaert attends and joins the debate at Genomics England Research Summit 2023 at the London Design Centre in London on 19 September 2023. It brought together the genomics community to continue to advance research and drive forward much-needed healthcare benefits and genomic medicine for patients, parents, children and families.

Louisa Ghevaert attends Public Policy Projects Global Genomics Conference 2023 (9 November 2023), which explored the complex issues and challenges associated with realising the benefits of genomic sequencing both in the UK and globally, as well as the benefits of collaboration across sectors, among organisations, between countries and international diplomacy. Importantly. it also focused on the need for ensuring diversity and equity across the genomic ecosystem.

Louisa Ghevaert joins the debate about fertility, embryo and surrogacy law reform in the UK at Progress Educational Trust’s AGM 2023 on 6 December 2023 entitled “How Much Change Do We Want? Updating Fertility Embryo And Surrogacy Law”. 

2017 – 2022, Louisa Ghevaert  was a member of the international Egg Donation Stakeholder Advisory Group (EDNA) led by De Montfort University concerned with the future landscape of egg donation policy in the UK and Europe. In this capacity, Louisa attended the EDNA study end of project webinar “From scarcity to sisterhood: exploring the complexities of egg donation in Europe” (10 May 2022).

Louisa highlights the ongoing vulnerability of surrogate-born children with questions over their legal parentage as seen in the case of Re X, Y and Z (Children: Parental Orders: Time Limit) [2022] and calls for international surrogacy law reform to prevent more surrogate born children and their intended parents falling victim to complex international conflicts of law (BioNews comment piece International Surrogacy Law: existing conflicts unresolved, (14 March 2022). Louisa Ghevaert acted for the intended parents in Re X, Y and Z (Children: Parental Orders: Time Limit) [2022]).

Louisa is an invited expert speaker at the British Fertility Society’s Study Week 2022 addressing the legal aspects of surrogacy and providing a surrogacy law and policy update as part of its annual Creating Modern Families Module for clinicians, nurses and specialists across the fertility sector.

Louisa publishes an article in Family Law entitled “Challenges in international surrogacy arrangements”, (4 April 2022). The article looks at the international surrogacy law case of Re X, Y and Z (Children: Parental Orders: Time Limit) [2022] EWHC198 (Fam) in which Louisa successfully obtained parental orders for the intended parents in the English High Court for their 3 US surrogate born children. Louisa highlights that Re X serves as a reminder that international surrogacy is not risk free and that the lack of international harmonisation of surrogacy law can leave surrogate born children with ‘limping legal parentage’ and even at risk of deportation.

Louisa calls for fertility law reform in the UK “Undergoing Fertility Treatment in the Workplace and Fertility Law Reform”, (29 April 2022). In doing so, Louisa addresses the legal difficulties workers encounter in the workplace whilst undergoing fertility treatment and measures to better protect workers and improve workplace culture.

Louisa attends Progress Educational Trust’s (PET) 30th birthday party at The Royal Society of Medicine in London (22 June 2022), sponsored by Ferring Pharmaceuticals and with speeches by Baroness Ruth Deech DBE, Professor Robin Lovell-Badge CBE and PET Director Sarah Norcross. The event celebrated PET’s work over the last 30 years informing and helping to shape public, patient, professional and policy debate about fertility, genomics and embryo research through its regular programme of expert-led events and its weekly newsletter.

Louisa highlights the importance of identity, status and parentage and the re-registration of birth certificates to provide properly maintained records not just for the benefit of individuals but for the public as well as seen in the case of X v Y [2022] EWFC 77. Louisa Ghevaert acted for the applicant in the case of X v Y [2022] EWFC 77, successfully obtaining a Declaration of Parentage following an ancestry website search, complex issues associated with DNA testing and a 35-year quest to find the applicant’s biological father. “Declaration of parentage: the importance of identity, status and birth certificates” (19 July 2022).

Louisa Ghevaert attends Illumina’s Inaugural Genomics Forum 2022. This groundbreaking event in San Diego, USA, from 28 September – 1 October 2022 gathered together global leaders from across the genomics, healthcare, scientific, technology, data and policy sectors to advance and improve genomic healthcare, with spotlight speeches by former US President Barack Obama and Bill Gates. You can read more in Louisa’s blog “Illumina Genomics Forum 2022: A Conversation with Former US President Barack Obama”.

Louisa visits Oxford University Nuffield Department of Population Health for a “Conversation with Professor Sir Rory Collins Chief Executive of UK Biobank” (26 October 2022) to discuss the ways UK Biobank is helping to transform our future health and family life.

Louisa Ghevaert was delighted to attend and join the debate addressing global reproductive issues and access to fertility care at Progress Educational Trust’s 2022 AGM “Making Fertility Treatment Fair: Equality in Access, Equality in Outcome?” (7 December 2022). Speakers included Professor Dame Lesley Regan Women’s Health Ambassador for England, Julia Chain, Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and Dr Gitau Mburu Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Louisa discusses single parent surrogacy and calls for wider surrogacy law reform in a Times Radio interview with John Pienaar Drive (Louisa Ghevaert Associates’ blog, 28 January 2021).

Louisa is an expert speaker at The British Fertility Society’s Virtual Study Week 2021, receiving 100% positive feedback to the BFS for her session addressing the legal aspects of surrogacy and re-joins the expert speaker panel as part of its annual Creating Modern Families Day module.

Louisa calls for genomic and fertility law reform in the UK and internationally and publishes an article entitled “Why we need genomic and fertility law reform part v” (dated 22 May 2021). The article addresses the need for law reform with reference to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and genomic governance internationally and in the UK, including calls for a new UK Ministry for Genomics and Fertility, with a dedicated Minister providing unified future direction for the fertility sector.

Louisa publishes an article entitled “Human genome editing in a fertility context: The World Health Organization’s framework for governance of human genome editing” (dated 29 July 2021). The article look at the World Health Organization’s finalised recommendations for global governance and regulation of human genome editing technology.

Louisa calls for change in workplace culture and policies to overcome discrimination experienced by working women undergoing fertility treatment and IVF (Mail Online, dated 5 August 2021).

Louisa Ghevaert provides an updated specialist chapter on surrogacy law to leading practitioner reference book “The International Family Law Practice” (Sixth Edition, 2021), used by solicitors, barristers, judiciary and academics.

Louisa features in a BBC World Service: Business Daily broadcast “The economics of older mums” and highlights structural problems with workplace law affecting fertility patients and prospective parents, as well as a lack of international harmonisation of fertility law (12 October 2021).

Louisa calls for fertility and wider law reform in the UK and internationally and publishes an article entitled “Why we need fertility and wider law reform part II” (dated 15 January 2020). The article addresses the need for law reform with reference to a number of issues including: personal genomic information, evolving political situation, economy, business and wealth, advances in IT, science and medicine, fertility treatment and reproductive legacy.

BBC Radio 5 Live interview with Louisa Ghevaert on law, policy and wider issues associated with proposals to harvest dead men’s sperm for posthumous conception in the UK to tackle UK shortfalls in donor sperm (Louisa Ghevaert Associates’ blog, 25 January 2020).

BBC Radio 5 Live interview with Louisa Ghevaert on proposals to lift advertising restrictions on surrogacy in the UK and wider surrogacy law reform by The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (Louisa Ghevaert Associates’ blog, 29 January 2020).

In a comment piece in BioNews entitled “The UK Supreme Court awards damages for commercial surrogacy” (6 April 2020), Louisa addresses the law and public policy significance of a landmark ruling of the UK Supreme Court granting damages for commercial surrogacy on 1 April 2020 (Louisa was instructed to provide expert advice on surrogacy, donor conception and fertility treatment law and policy in the case). Louisa also calls for the establishment of an expert advisory committee (‘Warnock 2020’) and a dedicated Ministry for Genomics and Fertility to bring about fertility and wider law reform.

Louisa is an expert speaker at The British Fertility Society’s Study Week 2020 and re-joins the expert speaker panel as part of its annual Modern Families Day on 15 June 2020, delivering a session addressing the legal aspects of surrogacy.

Louisa calls for fertility and wider law reform in the UK and internationally and publishes an article entitled “Why we need fertility and wider law reform part III” (dated 17 July 2020). The article addresses the need for law reform in light of declining fertility levels, fallout from the Covid-19 global pandemic, changing geopolitics and the intensification of genomic, digital and AI technology revolutions.

Louisa features in an article in Above The Law entitled “There’s A Zipcode Lottery When It Comes To Access To IVF” (dated 2 September 2020). Louisa calls for reform of the IVF NHS Postcode Lottery and the establishment of a Ministry for Fertility and a continuous top-level multidisciplinary strategy group made up of strategic thinkers outside of the elected political elite to drive change and innovation, as well as identify and mitigate risk with joined up thinking between the technology, science, healthcare, fertility, education, economic and other sectors.

Louisa publishes a discussion paper “Human Genome Editing: World Health Organization and Global Governance” (22 September 2020) in response to the publication of draft recommendations for global governance by the WHO’s Expert Advisory Committee on Human  Genome Editing.  Louisa explains that  it has yet to adequately address the implications of rapidly evolving geopolitical and biopolitical considerations at play and as it stands, it is constrained by a healthcare and fertility paradigm.

In a comment piece in BioNews on 19 October 2020 entitled “New National Genomic Healthcare Strategy, Genome UK: does it go far enough?” Louisa explains that the UK government’s new genomic healthcare strategy doesn’t go far enough in repositioning future healthcare strategy, policy and practice. She explains that by not fully articulating and integrating human reproduction and fertility treatment into future genomic healthcare strategy, it doesn’t represent a truly cohesive approach; it needs to encompass the whole fertility continuum from pre-conception through to birth and future genetic legacy.

Podcast interview “The Intricacies of Fertility Preservation” (17 December 2020) with Louisa Ghevaert and Eloise Edington founder of leading fertility lifestyle platform Fertility Help Hub. Louisa discusses why people preserve their fertility, how demand for fertility preservation has increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact on family building and the fertility treatment sector, as well as the legal implications and need for fertility law reform in the UK (also available on podcast apps Apple, Spotify and Soundcloud).

Louisa calls for fertility law reform and publishes an article in BioNews entitled “Why we need root and branch fertility law reform” and a longer blog article entitled “Why we need fertility law reform: the paradigm shift”, (25 November 2019)

Louisa features in The Lawyer Hot 100 List 2018 as a top litigator for her groundbreaking fertility and modern family law practice, which recognises her as ‘an influential figure’ at a law and policy making level (January 2018).

Article in BioNews (3 September 2018) by Louisa on the significance of fertility in which she calls for better education and understanding of fertility preservation in Britain.

Article published by Louisa in The Times on posthumous conception law and policy in the UK in which she calls for intervention by the HFEA entitled “Was it legal to create a grandson with a dead man’s sperm?” (13 September 2018). 

Provision of expert evidence by Louisa in parliament on surrogacy law reform to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Surrogacy (APPG on Surrogacy) led by Andrew Percy MP (November 2018).

Louisa is quoted in The Telegraph on growing demand for surrogacy in the UK (March 2017).

Louisa is quoted in The Economist on surrogacy law and policy and growing global demand for surrogacy and assisted reproduction (May 2017).

Louisa is interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour on Indian Surrogacy Law Reform and surrogacy policy (20 September 2016). 

Louisa quoted in The Daily Mail calling for reform of surrogacy law and policy in the UK (November 2016).

Louisa was interviewed on BBC World Service ‘Have Your Say’ on international surrogacy, policy and law reform (20 February 2015).

Louisa is quoted on the complexity of surrogacy law in The Independent as ‘a leading UK surrogacy lawyer and family law expert’ (March 2015).

Louisa is quoted in The Guardian on surrogacy law and policy reform in the UK.

Publication by Louisa of an article in The Times entitled “Surrogacy in the UK; time for legal reform?” (26 November 2015). 

Representation by Louisa of an intended father in a high profile complex UK surrogacy dispute in the High Court, JP v LP & Ors [2014] EWHC 595 (Fam). For the first time, this established a legal framework for cases where the legal criteria for a parental order cannot be met, including use of the Court’s inherent power of wardship and featured on BBC News and The Telegraph (6 March 2014) and Daily Mail (5 March 2014) and BioNews (17 March 2014)

Legal representation by Louisa of 24 year-old Andrea Heywood in a high profile case against her local health authority for age discrimination following its refusal to grant her IVF funding on the NHS for being too young, featured in The Daily Mail (4 June 2012) and The Independent (5 June 2012).

Publication by Louisa of an article in BioNews (2 July 2012) calling for national reform of law and policy for IVF funding on the NHS, following her correspondence with The Secretary of State for Health in December 2011, which called for investigation and review of Portsmouth City PCT’s IVF funding policy over publicized cases of Donna and Dean Marshall and Andrea Heywood.

Louisa was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour on the ethics of paying for surrogacy (19 January 2011), on BBC Radio 4 Today programme on surrogacy law reform (21 January 2011) and on BBC Breakfast TV on surrogacy in the UK with well known UK surrogate Jill Hawkins (23 January 2011).

Publication by Louisa of an article in BioNews about the legal challenges of progressive global regulation of IVF, donor conception and surrogacy (4 July 2011).

Legal representation by Louisa of Donna and Dean Marshall, helping them win a rare high profile legal case against their PCT for IVF funding on the NHS against their local health authority, featured in The Telegraph and BBC South Today (20 December 2011) and Portsmouth News (21 December 2011).

Publication of an article in BioNews on groundbreaking changes to donation law and policy in the UK enabling 2 women to register as parents on a child’s birth certificate (April 2010).

Louisa calls for reform of surrogacy law in the UK and is quoted by The Independent as ‘a leading expert in surrogacy and fertility law” (May 2010).

Louisa is quoted in The Telegraph on law and policy around private sperm donor websites in the UK (September 2010).

Louisa successfully obtained a parental order for British parents following a commercial US surrogacy arrangement, Re L (a minor) [2010] EWHC 3146 (Fam) and featured in The Telegraph (8 December 2010). This case marked a legal watershed ruling for the first time that the welfare of the child is decisive over the public policy ban on commercial surrogacy in the UK except in the clearest cases of abuse of public policy.

Publication by Louisa of an article in BioNews calling for reform of surrogacy law and policy in the UK (January 2009).

Acted for Melanie and Robert Gladwin, helping them save their frozen embryos from destruction and winning a high profile last minute change to embryo storage law, for which Louisa was named The Times Lawyer of The Week (1 October 2009).