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Bros, is it " test-tube " babie they talking about ??
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Who are the legal parents of IVF children?
Title: Who are the legal parents of IVF children?
Source: Straits Times
Author: K. C. Vijayan
WITH more babies being born using artificial reproduction techniques, the Law Ministry (MinLaw) is studying legislation to make clear who the parents are. The matter could be an issue if, say, the couple divorce.
MinLaw is working with other agencies, including the Ministry of Health, to clarify, among other things, parentage in cases of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) mix-ups, a spokesman said.
The move comes at a time when babies conceived by such methods are on the rise. In 2009, there were 1,158 such births, up from 717 in 2006.
Current medical technology allows for a man's wife to give birth using both eggs and sperm from donors. Legislation would therefore help clarify the parentage and legal status of children born through such techniques.
The norm is for a child to have one father and mother recognised by law and this involves creating a legal parental link where none exists, such as in the case of a man whose wife gives birth using sperm from a donor.
Among other things, the law also has to recognise that bearing a child who has no genetic links to the husband will not have long-term consequences for the child such as whether he can inherit properties where the owner dies intestate - or without leaving a will.
It also has to address the unconsented use of genetic material as happened in the Thomson Medical Centre IVF mix-up case last year, where the baby had the mother's DNA make-up but not her husband's, and the scope of the law - whether it applies only to children conceived by medical technology in Singapore.
There would need to be further clarity on specific issues such as when a foreign mother conceives via the technology overseas and delivers in Singapore or alternatively, where the Singaporean mother conceives and delivers abroad.
Lawyer S. Palaniappan said the current law has a lot of catching up to do. 'It does not cater for situations like the one we faced some time ago involving Thomson Medical Centre. The questions that arise in such a situation include the biological father's claim over the child.
'Would he be the most preferred choice should the father and mother be separated or are found unfit to parent the child? Can the child demand that the biological father is his or her legitimate father and hence ought to provide for him or her?'
He added that the present law does not help as current solutions based on existing provisions do not address all scenarios.
He cited the British Parliament's move to pass the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, which highlights issues concerning who the mother and father are.
'Section 35 of the HFEA provides an answer to our conundrum rather obliquely by saying that a male partner to a marriage would be irrefutably treated as a father of the child even if another's sperm had been used to inseminate the embryo carried by his wife provided he consents to the wife getting the donor sperm.'
'This allows the husband in the mistaken IVF treatment the option of saying that he is not the father,' he noted, as the child was conceived on the basis of a mistake.
National University of Singapore law don Debbie Ong stressed that any legal framework has to best serve the child's interest since the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in any proceedings concerning children.
'The legislation must provide for certainty for a court to achieve this aim, and may also have to provide sufficient flexibility,' she added.
Family lawyer Rajan Chettiar said the husband's obligations in an IVF case involving sperm donation also need to be defined.
'Or the wife may deny the child is the husband's and refuse him custody or access rights when the marriage breaks down,' he added.
MinLaw is looking to complete its study or formulate a draft Bill by the end of next year.
[email protected]
Any legal framework has to best serve the child's interest since the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in any proceedings concerning children, stresses NUS law don Debbie Ong.
Bros, is it " test-tube " babie they talking about ??
.
Who are the legal parents of IVF children?
Title: Who are the legal parents of IVF children?
Source: Straits Times
Author: K. C. Vijayan
WITH more babies being born using artificial reproduction techniques, the Law Ministry (MinLaw) is studying legislation to make clear who the parents are. The matter could be an issue if, say, the couple divorce.
MinLaw is working with other agencies, including the Ministry of Health, to clarify, among other things, parentage in cases of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) mix-ups, a spokesman said.
The move comes at a time when babies conceived by such methods are on the rise. In 2009, there were 1,158 such births, up from 717 in 2006.
Current medical technology allows for a man's wife to give birth using both eggs and sperm from donors. Legislation would therefore help clarify the parentage and legal status of children born through such techniques.
The norm is for a child to have one father and mother recognised by law and this involves creating a legal parental link where none exists, such as in the case of a man whose wife gives birth using sperm from a donor.
Among other things, the law also has to recognise that bearing a child who has no genetic links to the husband will not have long-term consequences for the child such as whether he can inherit properties where the owner dies intestate - or without leaving a will.
It also has to address the unconsented use of genetic material as happened in the Thomson Medical Centre IVF mix-up case last year, where the baby had the mother's DNA make-up but not her husband's, and the scope of the law - whether it applies only to children conceived by medical technology in Singapore.
There would need to be further clarity on specific issues such as when a foreign mother conceives via the technology overseas and delivers in Singapore or alternatively, where the Singaporean mother conceives and delivers abroad.
Lawyer S. Palaniappan said the current law has a lot of catching up to do. 'It does not cater for situations like the one we faced some time ago involving Thomson Medical Centre. The questions that arise in such a situation include the biological father's claim over the child.
'Would he be the most preferred choice should the father and mother be separated or are found unfit to parent the child? Can the child demand that the biological father is his or her legitimate father and hence ought to provide for him or her?'
He added that the present law does not help as current solutions based on existing provisions do not address all scenarios.
He cited the British Parliament's move to pass the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, which highlights issues concerning who the mother and father are.
'Section 35 of the HFEA provides an answer to our conundrum rather obliquely by saying that a male partner to a marriage would be irrefutably treated as a father of the child even if another's sperm had been used to inseminate the embryo carried by his wife provided he consents to the wife getting the donor sperm.'
'This allows the husband in the mistaken IVF treatment the option of saying that he is not the father,' he noted, as the child was conceived on the basis of a mistake.
National University of Singapore law don Debbie Ong stressed that any legal framework has to best serve the child's interest since the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in any proceedings concerning children.
'The legislation must provide for certainty for a court to achieve this aim, and may also have to provide sufficient flexibility,' she added.
Family lawyer Rajan Chettiar said the husband's obligations in an IVF case involving sperm donation also need to be defined.
'Or the wife may deny the child is the husband's and refuse him custody or access rights when the marriage breaks down,' he added.
MinLaw is looking to complete its study or formulate a draft Bill by the end of next year.
[email protected]
Any legal framework has to best serve the child's interest since the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in any proceedings concerning children, stresses NUS law don Debbie Ong.
