Family Law & Fertility Law Blog | Louisa Ghevaert Associates

Rise in DNA tests being used to claim citizenship of other countries

Louisa Ghevaert was pleased to feature in an article in The Guardian on 18 August 2024 about the legalities associated with DNA testing and applications to rectify an inaccurate or incomplete birth certificate. The article discusses how increasing numbers of people are taking DNA tests to explore their ancestral heritage, uncover unknown aspects of their personal identity or trace parents, siblings and new relatives. Added to this, people are now using DNA tests to apply for citizenship in another country.

Netflix’s The Man With 1,000 Kids: Part One

Netflix's documentary series "The Man with 1,000 Kids" was released in the UK in July 2024. It takes an in-depth look at the actions of a prolific Dutch sperm donor, called Jonathan, who allegedly may have fathered over 1,000 children. Episode one starts with personal accounts from women and couples who conceived their children privately with Jonathan's sperm and their shock, anger and concern when they began to learn about the alleged scale of his sperm donation activity. It opens with the question "What kind of man would do that?" and goes on to raise further serious issues and questions.

Can Air Pollution Affect My Fertility?

A groundbreaking study presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology's (ESHRE) 40th Annual Meeting in Amsterdam (7-10 July 2024) shows that exposure to air pollution can significantly decrease the chance of a live birth after IVF treatment by 38 percent. It found that air pollution's negative impact on fertility starts before conception by disrupting egg development and quality. This adds to previous findings that microscopic soot particles travel through the bloodstream into the ovaries and placenta leading to increased miscarriage rates and premature births.

Resolution’s Modern Families Forum 2024

Louisa Ghevaert attended 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 the present day. Lady Hale successfully broke through the glass ceiling and was the first woman President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020. In meeting Lady Hale, Louisa was privileged to discuss her legal involvement and the transformational outcome of Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14, which was Lady Hale's last case in the Supreme Court and enabled the recovery of damages for fertility treatment, donor conception and surrogacy following medical negligence.

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