The role of non-genetic parents in a surrogate-born child’s identity: an argument for removal of the genetic link requirement

Park-Morton, Lottie ORCID: 0000-0003-3864-7611 (2024) The role of non-genetic parents in a surrogate-born child’s identity: an argument for removal of the genetic link requirement. Medical Law Review, 32 (1). pp. 61-80. doi:10.1093/medlaw/fwad032

Text (Peer-reviewed version) 13201 PARK-MORTON Lottie (2023) The role of non-genetic parents article.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 17 September 2025. (Publisher Embargo). Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (499kB)

Abstract

For the court to grant a parental order recognising intended parents as legal parents of a surrogate-born child, the gametes of at least one of the intended parents must have been used to create the embryo, under section 54(1)(b) and section 54A(1)(b) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. In the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission's consultation paper, there was a provisional proposal to remove the genetic link requirement in cases of medical necessity. However, this proposal was not included in the Law Commissions' Final Report, instead recommending the retention of the requirement for a genetic link in almost all circumstances. This article contends that the Law Commissions' recommendation should be reconsidered in light of the child's right to identity. By reviewing how identity has been used by the courts when determining whether to grant a parental order, as well as a developing interpretation of Article 8 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and European Convention on Human Rights, it can be asserted that the identity of surrogate-born children necessitates recognition of the relationship between the child and intended parent(s), irrespective of a genetic link. On this basis, it is argued that there should be the possibility for intended parents to establish legal parenthood following surrogacy without the requirement for a genetic link.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Medical Law Review following peer review. The version of record - Lottie Park-Morton, The role of non-genetic parents in a surrogate-born child’s identity: an argument for removal of the genetic link requirement, Medical Law Review, 2023;, fwad032 - is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwad032.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Children’s rights; Genetic link; Human rights; Identity; Private life; Surrogacy
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KD England and Wales
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences
Research Priority Areas:	Applied Business & Technology
Depositing User:	Rhiannon Goodland
Date Deposited:	20 Sep 2023 12:20
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2024 13:48
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/13201

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