Category: Parenting Law - Page 4

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20
Feb
2025

Judicial Warning & Naming 0f Serial Sperm Donor ‘Who Fathered 180 Children’

In a recently published family law case In the Matter of D [2023] EWFC 333, His Honour Judge Jonathan Furness KC took the unusual step to publicly name a serial sperm donor and warn the public and vulnerable women seeking to get pregnant of the dangers of unregulated private sperm donation. This followed a highly contested 2-year legal battle, described as a 'nightmare' and 'horror story', between a female same-sex couple and a prolific sperm donor who applied to court to be named on the child's birth certificate, obtain parental responsibility and contact with the child.

11
Feb
2025

Genetic Testing: A Non-Biological Father, Mistaken Birth Registration & Parental Responsibility Void Ab Initio

The recent case of KL v BA [2025] EWHC 102 (Fam) brings into focus the complex legal issues that arose when genetic testing showed that a non-biological father was registered in error on a child's birth certificate. The central issue in the case was whether the effect of a declaration of non-parentage in respect of the non-biological father who had mistakenly been registered as the child's father rendered his acquisition of parental responsibility void ab initio (never having had any legal effect) or whether this could only be removed by court order.

04
Nov
2024

Newborn Genome Sequencing At Birth: The Generation Study Progress Update

Louisa was pleased to attend Progress Educational Trust's event "Whole Genome Sequencing at Birth: Implementing The Generation Study" on 23 October 2024. This event provided a progress update on The Generation Study, which is an NHS embedded research study undertaking whole genome sequencing of 100,000 newborn babies at different hospitals across England. The Generation Study's aim is to better inform future decisions about using whole genome sequencing to support newborn screening and understand whether this can improve our ability to diagnose and accelerate access to treatment for rare genetic conditions.

29
Oct
2024

BBC News: DNA Testing and the Law, ‘I could have lost my child’ after flawed DNA test

Louisa Ghevaert was interviewed on 8 BBC Radio Stations on 23 October 2024 discussing issues and legalities associated with prenatal DNA testing and other forms of DNA testing. This followed news of a woman who received flawed DNA test results identifying the wrong man as her unborn baby's father, resulting in a lengthy legal dispute over custody of her child. The woman was reportedly one of dozens of women who received unreliable DNA test results from a Canadian laboratory which advertised online.

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