Embryos, sperm and eggs (fertility law) pages
Welcome to our fertility treatment law area, covering law on eggs, sperm and embryos. You can browse through a wealth of information and resources here on the legal and practical implications of fertility treatment, put together by the UK's leading fertility solicitors.
Read our detailed legal guidance on fertility law - use the links on the left
Read articles and publications about the legal aspects of fertility treatment
Read the UK's fertility laws
Read media stories about fertility treatment law, here and on our blog
Find other websites with useful information about fertility treatment
Fertility treatment law published articles:
We are often asked to write articles about the legal implications of IVF and fertility treatment for patients, lawyers, medics and professionals working in the fertility sector. You may also be interested in reading our articles on donor conception law and surrogacy law.
Fertility tourism: what you need to know from a legal perspective - Natalie Gamble (Infertility Network UK magazine, Winter 2010)
Morally straightforward but legally complex: a welcome change to the new embryo storage rules - Natalie Gamble (Bionews, 14 September 2009)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008: revolution or evolution? - Natalie Gamble and Louisa Ghevaert (Family Law, August 2009)
Embryo testing and PGD - Natalie Gamble (Infertility Network UK magazine, summer 2009)
Fertility treatment laws in the UK:
UK law rigorously regulates the use of eggs, sperm and embryos, both in fertility treatment and research, recognising the ethical sensitivies of these amazing life-creating technologies. The UK was the first country in the world to create a licensing regime for fertility and embryology in 1990, and the law was overhauled and updated last year following extensive public consultation.
You can read both the 1990 Act and the 2008 amendments below, or use the links on the left for detailed guidance on UK fertility law.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
Fertility treatment law in the news:
As the UK's leading fertility lawyers, we often comment on media stories in the national press. From time to time, cases we are working on are also covered by the national media (although only with our clients' consent or where a case is so important it is reported anonymously by the court).
The Pink List 2010 (ranking Natalie Gamble as a pioneer of fertility law and one of the 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain) - The Independent on Sunday, 1 August 2010
Shadowy world of web's unregulated fertility sites - The Times, 17 July 2010
The Times Lawyer of the Week: Louisa Ghevaert - The Times, 1 October 2009
Louisa Ghevaert acts for couple in frozen embryo time limit case - Law Society Gazette, 17 September 2009
Couple win battle to save frozen embryos from destruction - The Times, 10 September 2009
Embryo storage u-turn allows couples chance of parenthood - Daily Telegraph, 9 September 2009
Woman cancer survivor told she cannot keep frozen embryos - Daily Telegraph, 7 August 2009
Crusading mother in race to save 'death row' embryos - Daily Mail, 6 July 2009
Mother fights for embryos 'on death row' - Sunday Times, 5 July 2009
Also see our media archive including:
The Guardian, 11 May 2008 - Pro-life MPs threaten access to IVF (by Robin McKie)
The Times, January 15 2008 - Lawyer of the week: Natalie Gamble
BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, 19 November 2007 - John Humphrys interview with Natalie Gamble and Baroness Deech on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill and the ‘need for a father'
Other websites with useful fertility treatment law information:
There is a lot of information about IVF and fertility treatment on the web, but the following are the websites of the major UK bodies, charities and professional organisations working in the fertility sector.
HFEA - the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is the UK's regulatory body for fertility treatment, which licenses and oversees fertility clinics in the UK.
Infertility Network UK - a leading UK charity which provides support to patients on all aspects of fertility treatment.
Fertility Friends - a massive online community of fertility patients, where those going through fertility treatment share information and support via online forums.
Bionews - a publication with all the latest news and comments on bioethics and fertility treatment issues, sent out by email and on the web and read widely by those interested in the fertility sector.
British Infertility Counselling Association - the professional association of infertility counsellors.
Fertility law cases:*
Evans v Amicus Healthcare Ltd 2004-2006 – Natalie Evans, who sought to use embryos created with her former partner’s sperm without his consent
Fertility law: how can we help?
Gamble and Ghevaert LLP is the only solicitors' firm in the UK to specialise exclusively in fertility and parenting law and has leading practical and legal expertise in this cutting edge area of law. We advise fertility patients, their families, fertility clinics and other professionals working in the sector, giving both legal advice and practical family building support for those wanting help navigating the fertility sector.
If you would like further information or legal advice on your particular circumstances, please contact us. We can help with:
- advising patients on the legal issues associated with fertility treatment (including access to treatment issues, consent forms, embryo and gamete storage, import and export of gametes/embryos, donor conception, surrogacy, and posthumous conception),
- impartial family building advice on options and how to navigate the fertility sector,
- representing patients in dealings with fertility clinics and the HFEA,
- expert advice to fertility clinics, government bodies, charities and other professionals working in the sector on patient treatment issues.
* Case transcripts reproduced by kind permission of Westlaw UK
