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11
Feb
2025

Blog, Declaration of Parentage, Legal Parentage, Modern Family Law, Parental Responsibility Law, Parenting Law

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.

27
Jan
2025

Blog, Genomics, Legal Parentage, Modern Family Law

Genetic Testing, Political Uncertainty & Citizenship: Family Law In Focus

As we start 2025, the evolving realities of direct-to-consumer DNA tests, political uncertainty and demand for foreign citizenship are increasingly calls to action. As people seek to understand and address these challenges it can create complex inter-related personal and legal questions. Such questions are increasingly drawing together and necessitating solutions that require specialist family law expertise. Successfully navigating a path through these choppy waters can require expert management and bespoke family law strategies to address the implications of genetic testing, legal and biological parentage, an application for a Declaration of Parentage and rectification of a birth certificate.

23
Jan
2025

Blog, Fertility Law, Louisa Ghevaert, Posthumous Conception Law

Posthumous Conception In Focus

The law governing posthumous conception in England and Wales sets out clear legal requirements designed to protect an individual's right to consent to the use of their eggs, sperm or embryos in treatment after their death. Eggs, sperm and embryos represent a special class of reproductive cells. They are very private and intimate, representing unique reproductive building blocks in human conception and an individual's genetic legacy. As such, the law is designed to prevent the unauthorised use of a person's gametes (or embryos comprising these) in treatment without their specific consent in life and after death. However, the prescriptive legal framework governing posthumous conception is not without its challenges in real life. What can be done to overcome these challenges?

23
Dec
2024

Blog, Donor conception law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern Family Law

Secret Sperm Donation & The Early Years of UK IVF

An article in The Telegraph (1) on 20 December 2024 has reported concerns by two individuals about early UK fertility clinic practices, having recently discovered that they share the same secret sperm donor; a scientist in charge of the laboratory in the 1970's on the floor above UK IVF pioneer Patrick Steptoe's clinic at Oldham Hospital. Fifty years on, this has come to light after both individuals registered for DNA tests on Ancestry.com, reportedly raising concerns about whether their mothers were unknowingly impregnated without their consent with donor sperm.

25
Nov
2024

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert

The Future of Womb Transplants

On 20 November 2024, Louisa Ghevaert attended a Progress Educational Trust event "10 Years of Womb Transplants: What Have We learned? What Does the Future Hold?". This fascinating event looked at the important and pioneering uterine transplant work that has been undertaken over the last 10 years, starting with the world's first successful human womb transplant and live birth in September 2014. Since then, there have been more than 135 uterus transplants around the world, including news of the UK's first womb transplant in 2023. In doing so, uterus transplants offer hope and greater reproductive choice for women whilst raising complex medical, legal and ethical issues.

04
Nov
2024

Blog, Genomics, News, Parenting Law

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

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern Family Law, News, Parenting Law

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.

30
Sep
2024

Assisted Reproduction Law, Blog, Donor conception law, Fertility Law, Louisa Ghevaert, Posthumous Conception Law

Posthumous Conception & Surrogacy: The Importance of Consent

The case of Re G v Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority & Anor [2024] EWHC 2453 (Fam) raises important legal and factual issues about posthumous conception that have not previously been considered by the English Court. This case, in which Louisa Ghevaert Associates was instructed by the applicant mother, concerned the storage and use of a young woman's eggs, who tragically died in June 2023 within six months of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. The mother sought permission to use her deceased daughter's 20 frozen eggs to have a baby through surrogacy.

20
Sep
2024

Blog, Fertility Law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern Family Law, News, Parenting Law, Surrogacy Law

British Fertility Society’s Creating Modern Families Day 2024

Louisa Ghevaert was delighted to to deliver a surrogacy law update on 17 September 2024 at the British Fertility Society’s Creating Modern Families Day 2024 in London as part of the annual BFS Study Week. This training day was well attended by fertility clinicians, embryologists, nurses and other professionals. It also included a lively legal Question & Answer session, during which Louisa was pleased to answer a range of questions about legal parentage, donor conception and fertility treatment law, family building trends, complex personal situations and more.

15
Sep
2024

International Surrogacy Law, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern Family Law, News, Parenting Law, Surrogacy Law

The Mail On Sunday: More Single Men and Men Over 50 and 60 Are Applying For Children Through Surrogacy

Louisa Ghevaert featured in an article in the Mail On Sunday on 15 September 2024 by Sanchez Manning about the numbers of single men and men over 50 and 60 applying to have children through surrogacy. Almost 300 men aged over 50 in England applied to become the legal father of a surrogate born child over the past five years (43 of whom are aged over 60).

13
Sep
2024

Blog, Louisa Ghevaert, Modern Family Law, News, Parenting Law, Surrogacy Law

The Surrogacy Network: A Journey To Parenthood

Louisa Ghevaert was pleased to attend The Surrogacy Network at Cloth Street, London, on 12 September 2024 to promote best practice and network with colleagues and professionals across the fertility sector. This Surrogacy Network event provided personal insight from a recently successful UK surrogacy journey. It served as an important reminder of the importance of care, attention to detail, consideration and proactive management of every angle of the surrogacy process.

05
Sep
2024

Blog, Donor conception law, Embryo Law, Fertility Law, Louisa Ghevaert, News

BioNews’ 25th Birthday Celebration

Louisa Ghevaert was pleased to attend BioNews' 25th Birthday Celebration on 4 September 2024 at the Conway Hall in Red Lion Square, Holborn, London. This invitation-only event was well attended by a community of leading experts and supporters from across the fertility, medical, scientific and academic sectors. This special event included speeches looking at which developments in fertility, genomics and embryo research will have the greatest impact over the next twenty five years, as well as the presentation of the inaugural Marcus Pembrey BioNews Writing Prize.

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