Family Law & Fertility Law Blog | Louisa Ghevaert Associates

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.

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.

‘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.

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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