We are delighted to report that Natalie has been invited by the Prime Minister to a reception at 10 Downing Street to celebrate the contribution of leading lesbian and gay people to Britain.
The invitation to Number 10 recognises Natalie’s work as a prominent champion of same sex families. Natalie has both spoken openly and about her own experiences as a mother and given legal help and support to many hundreds of gay and lesbian families conceived through assisted reproduction. She was at the forefront of securing groundbreaking legal changes in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, allowing lesbian couples conceiving together through donor insemination to be named on the birth certificate together, and from April this year allowing gay couples who have a child through surrogacy to apply to court to be recognised as equal legal parents. The changes were controversial in Parliament (with MPs given a free vote to decide whether clinics should consider a child’s need for a mother and a father before offering fertility treatment) but were passed last year, and now ensure that same sex parents are treated in the same way as heterosexual couples conceiving through assisted reproduction.
You can find out more about Natalie and her work, about the new legal rights for lesbian parents and about how the law works for gay men considering surrogacy on our website.