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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

I am grateful for the willingness of the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, and the noble Earls, Lord Listowel and Lord Howe, to think outside the box in order to help to improve the Bill. In this House, I have learnt from the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay, to get definitions right. I have been struggling with the definitions here but I will try to address the issues; I am grateful to noble Lords for the amendments in this group. Amendment No. 55A retains the requirement to take into account the need for a father but adds an alternative to the father by adding, "““or other suitable male adult who is willing and able to make a long term commitment to safeguard and promote the child's health, development and welfare and to provide, in a manner appropriate to the age and development of the child, direction and guidance to the child””." I am grateful for the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, in which—to come back to the amendment—she said that we could possibly look at other suitable male adults as the other suitable parent. That brings me back to the interesting issue of the definition of parenthood. I have since sought some advice and been told that there is no legal definition of parents but our intention is that someone who is recognised as a parent under this Bill will have the same parental rights and responsibilities as other parents. Returning to the Bill, the amendments as they stand would signal that treatment services are less accessible where there is not a father or another man fitting the criteria in Amendment No. 55A, or a father and a mother. In considering this, we must be careful not to impose on clinics a duty that represents a sentiment rather than a firm position—there, we are back to definitions. We must also be careful not to drive people away from regulated services and the quality and safety assurances that they provide. I referred to an example earlier in relation to one from the noble Lord, Lord Alton. The Bill as it stands continues the 1990 Act’s provision that the woman who is carrying or has carried a child as a result of an embryo or sperm and eggs being placed in her—and no other woman—is to be treated as the mother of the child. The Bill does, however, extend the range of persons who can apply for a parental order in cases of surrogacy. I am sure that we will discuss those specific provisions in the later amendments. Amendment No. 60, tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, would modify the requirements for the HFEA specifically to include guidance about taking account of the welfare of children who may be born as a result of treatment. The guidance currently provides that, before providing treatment, the centres—including the clinician—should take all reasonable steps to determine both who will have parental responsibility for any child who may be born, and who will be the person or persons responsible for raising the child. The guidance goes on to say that the centre should take medical and social histories from each patient, and see each couple together and, where appropriate, separately. Where the information gathered suggests that serious harm may be caused to the child, the centre should investigate the matter further. I agree that it does not require centres to undertake onerous and invasive social assessments of their patients, but it does provide for further consideration of the patient’s circumstances if there are indications of a risk to the child. Amendment No. 60 would add further guidance, saying that the centres should also assess the stability of the upbringing that the child would have, where the prospective parents are not married or in civil partnership. Very careful consideration would need to be given to whether these additional requirements are necessary on top of the guidance already in the code of practice, or constitute a feasible task for clinicians to undertake. I understand and welcome the clear willingness displayed by noble Lords through these amendments to find solutions to the difficult issues that we are discussing today. I will try to address the issue that the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, raised about what type of literature is available to patients. There is wide-ranging literature produced by the HFEA, including guidance for patients, but whether they are adequate is another issue. I strongly believe that it is for regulators and professional bodies to try to address that rather than the Government, but I will be more than happy to look into that. I have no doubt that those discussions should continue. In the mean time, I invite the noble Lords to withdraw their amendment.