Family Law & Fertility Law Blog | Louisa Ghevaert Associates

‘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).

Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month 2025: The Impact on Fertility

September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month, and it is designed to raise awareness about the symptoms, treatments and struggles associated with the diagnoses of five types of cancers. These are cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulval cancer. Gynaecological cancer can be life altering, or life threatening in serious cases, and so drawing attention to the symptoms and available screening can increase the chances of an early detection. These diagnoses do not just affect women, but also anyone assigned female at birth who identifies differently, including trans men and non-binary people, as well as some intersex people who have female reproductive organs.

Declaration of Parentage: When Might This Be Relevant?

A Declaration of Parentage declares whether a named person is or is not the legal or biological parent of another person under English law. It can clarify and confirm parentage or alternatively, it can declare the removal of parentage for English legal purposes. Recently, there have been several cases involving Declarations of Parentage following legal disputes after unregulated sperm donation involving serial sperm donor Joe Donor, rushed licensed sperm donation and disputed co-parenting arrangements as well as disputes about whether a child was conceived naturally or by assisted conception. Added to this, applications for a Declaration of Parentage can be relevant when people seek to correct or re-register a birth certificate for a variety of reasons.

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