U.K. rejects the 'need for a father'

By Rachael Dobson, BioNews

May 27, 2008, U.K. -- The House of Commons has rejected a proposed amendment to the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill, requiring fertility clinics to consider the 'need for a father' prior to IVF treatment. After a lengthy debate, MPs voted 292 to 217 against the amendment, a majority of 75. MPs also rejected the need for 'supportive parenting and a father or male role model' by 290 to 222 votes. Under the new legislation, fertility clinics will only need to consider the child's need for 'supportive parenting'.
Section 13 of the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act
required IVF clinics to consider the 'welfare' of any child that may be
created, including the 'need for a father', prior to IVF treatment. This
requirement was debated in the House of Commons and reviewed by the
parliamentary Science and Technology Committee in 2006. It was suggested
that the requirement discriminates against lesbian couples and single women
seeking IVF treatment, but noted that clinicians and fertility counsellors
recommended retaining a reference to the parenting needs of the child.

The amendment to retain the 'need for a father' in the new HFE bill was
proposed by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, who argued that
removing the 'need for a father' would send a message that 'fathers are less
important than mothers' in parenting. Labour MP Geraldine Smith appealed to
'common sense' in the need for a father figure. Mr Duncan Smith and his
supporters said that fathers play an important role in parenting, and
pointed to evidence that children from single parent families were less
likely to do well at school and more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. In
practice, they said, there was little evidence that lesbian couples and
single mothers were being denied fertility treatment.

During the debate, Labour MP George Howarth asked Mr Duncan Smith if he
agreed that not all fathers had a positive influence in a family. The
Liberal Democrat science spokesman Evan Harris also asked if he considered
lesbian couples to be 'broken families'. Emily Thornberry said to Mr Duncan
Smith, 'you will not, as a result of this amendment, bring any more fathers
into any more families'.

The latest psychological research, discussed at a public debate hosted
by the Progress Educational Trust at the House of Commons in January 2008,
suggests that children benefit when a father is active in parenting, and are
adversely affected when a father leaves the family. There is also much
evidence that 'solo' single mothers by choice and lesbian couples are highly
committed to parenthood and able to provide supportive parenting.

The Bill will also allow both partners in a lesbian couple to be
designated parents when they conceive with donated sperm. This reflects the
situation of a heterosexual couple seeking fertility treatment with donor
sperm, where the man is deemed the legal father despite having no biological
relation to the child. The legislation represents the greatest extension to
the family rights of homosexual couples since gay adoption.

excerpted from our original posting on this subject
January 14, 2008 -- According to BioNews, a standing room only crowd gathered for the U.K. Parliament debate about whether the need for a father should be enshrined in law -- and thus considered important criteria for a fertility clinic before working with single women and lesbian couples.

...
Fiona MacCallum, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Warwick, indicated that studies show the effects on a child's development and emotional wellbeing are, on average, worse if their parents divorce than if they experience the death of a parent. This is thought to be because the children of divorced families are more likely to be affected by financial difficulties and 'inter-parental conflict' than bereaved children.

She went on to cite several studies that suggest the situation is quite different for the children of lesbian couples and Choice Moms. Such mothers are typically highly committed to parenthood, she pointed out, and the quality of parenting in both groups is generally as high, or higher that of heterosexual couples. She said the latest psychological research shows that single women and lesbian couples are able to provide warm and supportive parenting.
...
As a lawyer and parent of two donor-conceived children, Natalie Gamble began by arguing that in general, women planning to conceive children by donor insemination (DI) put 'enormous thought' into motherhood, and that there were many other children whose welfare was of more concern. She said that in practice, the current HFEA guidance states that where the child will have no father, doctors offering fertility treatment are asked to assess how women will meet the needs of a child - in other words, to consider her wider social circle.

(report written by Dr. Jess Buxton, Genetics Editor, BioNews)

See also:
The Guardian 20/5/2008 'MPs reject 'need for father' in IVF bill'