For those few families, this is an extremely important issue about which they feel passionate. The obstacles placed in the way of getting legal recognition for the father of the children are unfair and insensitive. To be faced with that insensitivity, as well as the frustration of what is in effect an outdated law, can only compound the distress that those families face at a time when they are trying to look forward and celebrate the new life of a child. That is why it is right to change the law. That is why the Bill is right and why we wish it a speedy passage through the House.
Friend makes a powerful point.
I pay tribute to her for her work on the issue and the representations that she has made on behalf of constituents who have been affected by the existing law. That is why it is right to make the Bill retrospective, and not simply so that it affects future families facing those circumstances. Column 646 not yet implanted. Their intention to start a family is clear but, sadly, the man has died through illness or accident before the embryos can be implanted. The law allows women in that situation to use the stored sperm or embryo to have a child, provided the father has consented to that.