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England and Wales High Court (Family Division) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Family Division) Decisions >> Cases Y, Z, AA, AB & AC, Re Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 [2017] EWHC 784 (Fam) (12 April 2017) URL: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2017/784.html Cite as: [2017] EWHC 784 (Fam) |
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FAMILY DIVISION
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
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In the Matter of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 | ||
(Cases Y, Z, AA, AB and AC) |
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Goodman
Ray Solicitors LLP) for the applicants
Hearing date: 21 March 2017
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Crown Copyright ©
Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division :
The facts
i) The treatment which led to the birth of C was embarked upon and carried through jointly and with full knowledge by both the woman (that is, Y) and her partner (X).
ii) From the outset of that treatment, it was the intention of both X and Y that X would be a legal parent of C. Each was aware that this was a matter which, legally, required the signing by each of them of consent forms. Each of them believed that they had signed the relevant forms as legally required and, more generally, had done whatever was needed to ensure that they would both be parents.
iii) From the moment when the pregnancy was confirmed, both X and Y believed that X was the other parent of the child. That remained their belief when C was born.
iv) X and Y, believing that they were entitled to, and acting in complete good faith, registered the birth of their child, as they believed C to be, showing both of them on the birth certificate as C's parents, as they believed themselves to be.
v) The first they knew that anything was or might be 'wrong' was when, some while later, they were contacted by the clinic.
The facts: the individual cases
"I am the partner of [Y]. I acknowledge that she and I are being treated together … In consenting to the course of treatment outlined above, I understand that I will become the legal parent of any resulting child(ren) subject to the completion of the appropriate HFEA consent forms [see page 1, section 4 of this consent]."
That cross-reference is to Forms WP and PP. But for the inclusion of the words "subject to the completion of the appropriate HFEA consent forms", there could be no question of this not being a Form IC sufficient to entitle X to the declaration she seeks. The only question is whether those words are fatal to the efficacy of the document for this purpose. In my judgment they are not. The document has to be read as a whole and, read as a whole, it is clear that both parties were signing a document which contemplated that X would be a parent. If X was not to be a parent, why sign the declaration at all? X is entitled to the declaration she seeks: see In re A, para 63(iii).
Outcome
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