Campaigning
We are a campaigning law firm. Our vision is a world which embraces families created in alternative ways, and laws which enable and support responsible family building in all different family forms.
We have a steady record of winning legal changes, but there is still lots more to be done.
Our current campaigns include:
· Equal maternity leave rights for intended parents after surrogacy
· A legal framework for surrogacy in the UK which gives parentage to the right people earlier, and which facilitates responsible surrogacy practice
· Educating the UK courts about the dynamics of known donor and same sex parenting relationships
· Ending discrimination against single parents building a family through surrogacy
· Promoting a more realistic public understanding of surrogacy and how it works at home and abroad
· Winning legal recognition for families with more than two co-parents
· Promoting confidence and pride in alternative families – the kids are alright!
Here are some highlights of what we have already achieved:
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Making international surrogacy arrangements possible for British parents – in 2008 we persuaded the English High Court to make a groundbreaking decision ratifying a foreign commercial surrogacy arrangement. The court’s decision was published (Re X and Y 2008) receiving national media coverage. We went on to win subsequent international surrogacy cases Re L 2010 and Re IJ 2011, which have pushed the boundaries further, and created a precedent legal solution for British couples conceiving through surrogacy abroad.
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Winning rights for lesbian parents and gay dads to be named together on UK birth certificates – Natalie was a prominent champion of the proposed changes while they were being debated in Parliament in 2008. She spoke at a public debate in the Houses of Parliament on the eve of the House of Lords vote (alongside ex HFEA Chair Baronness Deech and Bishop of Oxford Lord Richard Harries) and spoke prominently across the national media. Children conceived from April 2009 can now have two legal female parents in the UK, and children conceived to gay dads through surrogacy can now have two male parents.
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Getting abolished the ‘need for a father’ clause (which for many years stopped lesbian and solo mothers from accessing fertility treatment in the UK) – in 2009 Natalie spoke out prominently against discrimination in who can access treatment, and was quoted as an expert on the floor of the House of Commons in the televised free vote debate. The vote was won, and fertility clinics now have to consider a prospective child’s need for ‘supportive parenting’ which does not discriminate against different family forms.
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Making it easier for children born through surrogacy abroad to become British – in 2010 Natalie was asked to act as expert adviser to the government on surrogacy during their review of the parental order regulations. One of her recommendations – to ensure that children born abroad should become British automatically on the grant of a parental order – was made law, something which has secured the status of many children born through surrogacy abroad.
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Ending discrimination in the embryo storage rules - In 2009, we represented parents Melanie and Robert Gladwin, whose embryos in storage faced destruction because the law only gave them a limited storage time because they would be used in a surrogacy arrangement. In a last minute government u-turn, changes were made to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (just days before it was due to come into force) to ensure that Melanie and Robert’s embryos were saved. Embryos in storage for surrogacy are now treated legally in the same way as other embryos.
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Helping win a reprieve for UK Donor Link - In 2011, public funding for UK Donor Link, an important organisation giving support to donor conceived adults trying to trace their genetic relatives, was discontinued. Natalie wrote to the Minister for Health Anne Milton, alongside many others, to urge reconsideration, and helped persuade the government to extend UK Donor Link’s funding.
To be involved, show your support or share your story, get in touch at hello@nataliegambleassociates.com.
