News - Page 15

Filter by category

28
Jul
2020

Direct to consumer genetic testing: a family and fertility law perspective

A decision to undertake a direct to consumer genetic test is a big step. In addition to offering insight into an individual’s health and disease risk, it can help trace a biological parent and biological relatives. In doing so, it can raise complex and challenging legal and wider issues about paternity and maternity, infidelity, the nature of family relationships, birth certificates, financial and inheritance claims and citizenship and nationality.

17
Jul
2020

Why we need fertility and wider law reform part III

There is increasingly a need to implement intelligent fertility and wider law reform and develop new policies and practices. The world around us is changing at pace and we must adapt to a range of powerful and inter-connected factors: declining fertility levels, fallout from the Covid-19 global pandemic, changing geopolitics, intensification of genomic, digital and AI technology revolutions.

13
Jul
2020

The importance of legal parentage

The significance of legal parentage should not be underestimated. Legal parentage establishes a legal parent-child relationship in law and it confers status, as well as various important legal rights and responsibilities. It does not always follow biological parentage or birth registration. Furthermore, the law can be complex, particularly in cases involving assisted conception and modern family forms, and challenging to resolve when disputes arise.

08
Jul
2020

UK fertility treatment trends: what’s next?

The HFEA’s latest data, published on 30 June 2020, paints a largely positive picture of fertility treatment in the UK in 2018 before the Covid-19 pandemic. Its main points and analysis indicate that IVF birth rates had increased for patients under 43 years and that on average, about one in every four embryos transferred in 2018 resulted in a live birth. However, the massive disruption, uncertainty and loss caused by the advent of the global Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed our public and private lives.

01
Jul
2020

Should I freeze my eggs or embryos?

On 30 June 2020, the HFEA published its latest report entitled “Fertility treatment 2018: trends and figures”. It shows that since 2013, the number of egg and embryo freezing cycles in the UK has increased fivefold. In 2013, just 1,500 freezing cycles were undertaken. In contrast, this increased by 523% to just under 9,000 freezing cycles in 2018. However, freezing gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos and undergoing fertility treatment is not a panacea. It creates a wide range of legal and practical issues that need to be navigated carefully.

23
Jun
2020

Should I invest in specialist fertility and family law advice?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed and disrupted life for us all. It creates new issues, challenges and risks to overcome for those looking to embark on or proceed with plans to have a family, whether naturally or through assisted conception. There is also a greater need to carefully address the issues and implications if a relationship ends or a dispute arises with an ex-partner, parent, donor, surrogate or family member in this evolving landscape.

17
Jun
2020

Coronavirus Regulations for the Storage of Gametes and Embryos

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos and Gametes) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (Coronavirus Regulations) will come into force on 1st July 2020. These new regulations have been introduced because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fertility patients with gametes and embryos in storage. However, they will not apply to all patients with stored eggs, sperm and embryos.

01
Jun
2020

Life and family in the Covid-19 era

The Covid-19 pandemic has been characterised as a public health crisis, resulting in population lockdown and unprecedented restrictions. The scale of disruption, change and loss caused by this global pandemic is only just beginning to unfold. Our response to this emergency has intensified the need for increased centralisation and inter-connection of healthcare and fertility treatment, science and genomics, digital and artificial intelligence technology, economics and law and policy.

23
May
2020

The impact of Covid-19 on family building and life

The global Covid-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it. Its impact has been devastatingly quick. Its effects will profoundly alter the fabric of our society and our relationships and futures with our family and loved-ones, friends and the rest of the world. The inherent uncertainty brought about by Covid-19 is likely to change attitudes and approaches to fertility treatment and family building.

03
May
2020

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.

01
May
2020

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.

27
Apr
2020

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.

In the News

X updates

Follow Louisa on X for latest industry updates

Articles & Publications

The latest news on fertility and modern family law

News & Commentary

Louisa discusses her opinion on different topics