 News
11th December 2006
Dads not required for NHS IVF
Lesbians and single women will be able to have IVF funded by the NHS
if Government plans to scrap the 'need for a father' rule come into effect.
In a shake-up of embryology laws, to be announced this week,
ministers are expected to drop current regulations that ensure women requesting
IVF are aware of a child's need for a father figure.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was made in 1990
and now ministers want to bring it more up to date to reflect the advances
made in the field over the last 16 years.
The feel that current regulations which mean doctors have
to assess a woman's understanding for a father figure in their child's
life could leave them open to claims of discrimination.
However, ethical campaigners have branded the plans as 'gender
correctness at its most ridiculous.'
The paper will be published on Friday and will set out the
reforms which will come into place next year.
Some other reforms expected include regulation for internet
sperm donors and the controversial screening for genetic defects.
Last summer public health minister Caroline Flint said that
ministers were keen to retain a duty on doctors to consider a child's
welfare but added, "We are thinking that there is probably less of
a case for retaining the law in terms of a reference to a father."
Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics
said, "The current act merely says that the need for a father should be
taken into account.
"To eliminate even this token gesture toward the role of
the father is an example of gender correctness at its most ridiculous
and discriminates against men."
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