Seanad debates

Thursday, 26 March 2015

Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We discussed this issue in the Dáil when Sinn Féin submitted this amendment. It would remove the requirement that a donor assisted human reproduction procedure would be carried out by a registered medical practitioner or by a registered nurse.

The aim appears to be that the parentage of a child born through a non-clinical procedure, such as self-insemination, would be recognised under the provisions of the Bill. The provisions of the Bill have been carefully designed to allow the assignment of parentage in limited and specified circumstances. There is a provision and it is a requirement that the treatment take place in a clinical context. This is an important element of the safeguards. If wider provision were made, other than on the basis of genetic connection, this could have significant consequences for the position of natural fathers.

There are some difficulties with the proposal, even if consents could be taken in broadly the same way as envisaged. In particular, issues around independent verification might arise in regard to the necessary certificate under section 27(5). That certificate is essential to enable a couple to jointly register as the parents of a donor conceived child. There would also be significant difficulty in ensuring that the safeguards allowing revocation of consent by a donor can be properly implemented.The case law on the position of a donor in cases of self-insemination is to be found in the Supreme Court judgment in the case of McDv. L, which found that the man concerned was, in law, the child's father and had the same statutory right as an non-marital father to seek guardianship, custody and access. The Bill does not attempt to regulate or ban self-insemination, it simply does not allow parentage to be assigned, as set out in section 5. However, where all of the adults involved are in agreement and it is in the best interests of the child concerned, there are options available which would allow a non-biological parent to secure a legal relationship with the child. For example, the person could apply for guardianship under section 6(c) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, which is provided for in section 45 of this Bill, thereby leaving the parental status of the natural father unaffected. Alternatively, the child could be jointly adopted under the Adoption Act 2010, as amended by this Bill. In short, they will have a route to parentage which does not run the risk of undermining the position of natural fathers. I cannot accept the amendment.

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