Family Law & Fertility Law Blog | Louisa Ghevaert Associates

Coronavirus and law and policy: a family and fertility perspective

The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has put national security, healthcare and family centre stage. UK law and policy has adopted a wartime footing that many of us have never witnessed before. It has also brought with it an intense focus on family life. UK law and policy, and the current lockdown, has revolved around the intrinsic link between our family household and our health and well-being in our fight against this deadly virus.

UK fertility clinics to resume treatment services

The HFEA has announced today (1 May 2020) that UK fertility clinics can from week commencing 11 May 2020 apply to reopen. Clinics must have a COVID-19 treatment commencement strategy in place before they can restart treatment and not all clinics will be able to resume treatment at the same time. This is positive news for fertility patients, some of whom are being severely affected by the temporary suspension of fertility treatment services and ongoing challenges caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

UK storage limit for frozen eggs, sperm and embryos extended due to Covid-19 pandemic

On 27 April 2020 the Department of Health and Social Care announced that due to the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fertility patients, the current 10-year storage limit for embryos and gametes will be extended by two years. This follows the decision to temporarily suspend fertility treatment services in the UK on 15 April 2020 and aims to provide sufficient time for fertility treatment to resume.

A legal watershed: UK Supreme Court awards commercial surrogacy damages

BioNews have published a comment piece by specialist fertility and surrogacy lawyer Louisa Ghevaert on the landmark legal ruling by the UK Supreme Court to award damages for commercial surrogacy. This important judgment helps improve fertility and family building options for victims of medical negligence. It marks a distinct change in UK public policy.

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