Some very troubling changes are taking place in the United Kingdom as it relates to birth certificates for donor conceived children. It is being debated that the birth certificates no longer list name of father and mother, but list “Parent A” and “Parent B”. I commented briefly on this at the beginning of December in the “Knock Yourself Up” post.

There is a debate on the “Need for a Father” scheduled for January 14, 2008 at the UK Houses of Parliament to “consider the welfare of the child who might be born as a result, before they agree to provide treatment, including that child’s need for a father.”

Much debate has been taking place already in the House of Lords about the proposal to remove the words “need of that child for a father” when looking a the welfare of the child.

I imagine this debate will be very heated. Rightly so.

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.