ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

Impact case study

Reforming the intrusive application process for treating infertility

 

The [Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority]'s guidance has shifted significantly over the course of Emily Jackson's membership of the Authority from a fairly restrictive model towards one in which all patients are presumed to be supportive parents, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

Professor Lisa Jardine CBE

Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 2008–14

Professor Emily  Jackson

Research by

Professor Emily Jackson

ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Law School

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People seeking treatment for infertility are now spared an intrusive and discriminatory assessment previously required by law

What was the problem?

Decisions about whether, when and with whom to have children are critically important to a person's life plan. When people need help conceiving, the state has more opportunity to intervene in their decisions, but whether it should do so, and on what grounds, is open to question.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 requires clinicians at fertility clinics to assess the welfare of any child that might result – the so-called 'pre-conception wel