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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

I put my name to this amendment because it has long been my view that not perpetrating official lies and almost compelling the child to be told of his origins are overriding considerations. I repeat that one of the greatest immoralities is to keep up a long-term deception of a child as to his origins. My preferred solution has long been simply to have ““by donation”” on the birth certificate. I fully understand that people may not want to produce this when they are opening a bank account or whatever, and therefore I support the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, as a compromise. I think it is a very good compromise on which people can agree, but I also regard it as a temporary compromise because I believe that attitudes are changing. If people learn somehow or other that this information appears, even if it is kept aside from the actual birth certificate by means of a symbol, or a circle, or a picture of a devil, or whatever, that symbol will soon become just like a word. One will know how to interpret it: it will just mean ““by donation””. Times will change and it will become recognised that being a child by donation is an honourable thing to be and casts no aspersions on the social father whatever. In fact it shows his generosity, if anything. So if we went down that route or one like it, it probably would not last very long, but for the time being it seems to me essential to adopt the suggestion of the noble Earl or that of the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, or something equivalent. I hope the Government will give due thought to that.