Under the provision of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which came into effect at the beginning of April last year, partners in same sex relationships are now given equal status as parents. This ultimately means that both partners can now be registered upon a child birth certificate, which also grants both parents parental responsibility for their child.
They are both in effect recognised as legal parents to the child. The Act grants parental responsibility by virtue of both of the parent’s names being registered upon the child’s birth certificate. In the past the non genetic parent would have had to go to Court to seek an order granting parental responsibility or even consider the process of adoption. Therefore the new law as it stands is more straightforward.
Prior to registering the child birth all the parents had to do was to sign consent forms confirming that they were entering into parenthood together, after that it is simply a matter of signing the birth certificate.
By family solicitor, Anna White
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