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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

It is important to remember that those supporting this amendment are not seeking to put these words into the Bill; they are seeking to prevent the removal of the phrase from an Act that has stood for 17 years. The phrase is incorporated within the provision about consideration of the welfare of the child, nothing else. Those who have spoken about this matter admit that an important aspect of the welfare of a child is the need for a father. The House of Lords and the House of Commons in 1990 were not ignorant of the fact that fathers die and that there is no right to a father. Although that was 17 years ago and we are all getting a bit older, that was well understood in the Parliament of 1990 and I am sure that it is understood by everyone today. This amendment talks about an element of the welfare of the child. Parliament in 1990 and this Government wish to continue the requirement that, in IVF where a doctor is responsible for supervising the procedure, if I can call it that, in a way that he is not in other modes of conception, he should have regard for the welfare of the child. The statement occurs twice in the 1990 Act and once in particular in reference to guidance. The HFEA has published guidance since 1990 and continues to do so. It has modified that guidance over the years and, since 1997, Secretaries of State have continued to allow that guidance to go out. The evidence before the Joint Committee was absolutely clear that the inclusion of that phrase, when it is interpreted in the light of the guidance, has done no harm to anyone. What the doctor looks for, as the evidence shows, is some person who can be a role model—a model of male thought as distinct from female thought—in the life of the child. As the noble Baroness said, we do not know what will happen tomorrow. That person might not be alive when the child is born. But even women who bear children by IVF may not necessarily live all that long. Nobody can tell. I thought that this was a very reasonable thing to include in 1990. It is not prescriptive in any sense. It does not debar people from getting IVF when no father is in the offing but it requires the child’s need for a father to be considered as a factor in the welfare of the child. I make it absolutely clear that I well understand that often because of circumstances there is no father in a family. The father may have died. I have no doubt that in the vast majority of cases where that happens, but not all, and a mother is left on her own, she would dearly like to have had the support of the father, her husband, for longer. We know many examples—some in this House—of people who have been brought up by a widowed mother with outstanding success. I do not want anyone to think that this provision has any bearing on that matter. However, those who support the relevant provision in the Act accept the noble Baroness’s argument that a father is an important factor in the welfare of the child. That is what the 1990 Act stipulates and asks should be considered, without imposing any sanction if, for some good reason, that aspect of the welfare of the child cannot be provided. My noble friend Lord Tebbit said that this matter arises at the preconception stage, but preconception must necessarily precede birth, so the phrase used by the noble Lord, Lord Warner, is perfectly in order. It is after birth that the welfare provision really takes effect, but you have to judge it before conception in this requirement. Thus an element of future judgment with very variable factors is involved, but the doctor makes the best judgment that he or she can and then acts on it. The committee believes that these provisions, which have been in place since 1990, have had no detrimental effect. I humbly suggest that the wisdom of 1990, which I believe prevailed unanimously in Parliament at that time, is still pretty wise today.