Category: Modern family law

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14
May
2023

Blog, Donor conception law, fertility law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law

Sperm Donor Fraud: One Year On from Netflix’s Documentary “Our Father”

The impact of sperm donor fraud and ongoing work to counter this was addressed at the American Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) Huntingdon Beach, California, Annual Conference from 30 April – 2 May 2023. This session was led by Jacoba Ballard, who featured in the Netflix 2022 Documentary "Our Father", being one of the first to suspect that well-known US fertility doctor Dr. Donald Cline had secretly replaced anonymous sperm samples and couples’ own sperm samples with his own.

21
Apr
2023

Blog, fertility law, international surrogacy law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern family law, Surrogacy law

The Surrogacy Network: UK Surrogacy Law Reform 2023

I was delighted to attend The Surrogacy Network on 20 April 2023 to hear from The Law Commission on their proposals for surrogacy law reform in the UK. They propose a new pathway to legal parenthood for domestic surrogacy arrangements, to enable intended parents to become the surrogate born child’s legal parents at birth, subject to eligibility conditions. It stimulated wide ranging questions and debate on the future practice of surrogacy and how to improve the pathway to parenthood for parents, children and families.

14
Mar
2023

Blog, Modern family law, Parenting law

Declaration of Parentage Applications: The Significance of Legal and Biological Parenthood

The Family Court has heard a number of applications for a Declaration of Parentage recently. In November 2022, it determined an application by Amy Boudewijn for a Declaration that the late Errol Washington Johnson was her biological father. In February 2022, the Family Court also heard an application for a Declaration of Parentage where the status of legal parenthood was in doubt due to administrative errors made by clinic staff during fertility treatment.

03
Mar
2023

Blog, international surrogacy law, Modern family law, Surrogacy law

UK Adoption Order granted to a single non-biological mother for a child born through a Californian surrogacy arrangement

The recent family law case of J v K (Adoption) [2021] EWFC 115 determined the legal parentage of a single non-biological mother for a child born through a Californian surrogacy arrangement. The legal proceedings concerned an application by a solo mother (Ms J) for an adoption order under English law for her US born surrogate child.

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