Another blow to fatherhood: IVF mothers can name ANYONE as ‘father’ on birth certificate in UK
Family values were under attack again last night with the news that single women having IVF will be able to name anyone they like as their baby’s father on the birth certificate.
New regulations mean that a mother could nominate another woman to be her child’s ‘father’.
The ‘father’ does not need to be genetically related to the baby, nor be in any sort of romantic relationship with the mother.
Critics said a woman could list her best friend on the birth certificate. The word ‘father’ may even be replaced with the phrase ‘second parent’.
The second parent, who will have to consent to being named, will take on the legal and moral responsibilities of parenthood.
This raises the spectre of a legal minefield in which female ‘fathers’ will fight for visitation rights and be chased for child support payments if their fragile relationship with the mother breaks down.
The changes, due to come in on April 6, will apply to many of the 2,000 women a year who have IVF using sperm from anonymous donors.
The regulations are part of the controversial Embryology Bill passed by Parliament last year. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said they will give lesbian couples in civil partnerships who undergo IVF the same rights as married heterosexual couples.
