Assessing Child Welfare under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: the New Law

Lead Research Organisation: University of Kent
Department Name: Sch of Social Pol Sociology & Social Res

Abstract

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Description 1. Changes to the law, and more especially to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Code of Practice (COP) giving guidance on how to take into account the 'welfare of the child' in clinics, constitute a shift to a more liberalised approach to regulation.
2. The HFEA's new 'risk assessment' process is generally perceived by staff to be an improvement on previous procedures, although despite the time spent discussing the welfare of the child (WOC) clause during the reform process, the new law appears to have had a relatively limited impact on clinics' previous practice.
3. The number of prospective patients deemed to raise 'welfare of the child concerns' remains small; very few indeed are subject to further investigation and even fewer are denied treatment.
4. Staff report struggling to work out how to resolve the small number of 'difficult cases' they experience.
5. Staff report variations in, and some concerns about, the role and place of counsellors and counselling in WOC assessments.
6. A low number of formal WOC cases co-exists with widespread concern about the 'welfare of the child'. This concern was expressed in the following three main ways:

- A bifurcation in attitudes towards lesbian patients, and single female patients, was detected by the research; lesbian couples were represented often as 'ideal patients', while concerns were expressed about single women's motivations for having a child, their ability materially to support a child, and the strength of their support networks of family and friends;

- The patient group most frequently discussed as requiring different treatment was donor gamete recipients and the view seemed to prevail that the law requires these patients to be treated differently;

- A view that the vast majority of patients are 'normal' co-exists with a sense that 'you can never know' or 'you can never prove it'; the spectre of the paedophile shapes perceptions, as a person hardly ever encountered but whose threat nevertheless creates a powerful rationale for pre-emptive action.
Exploitation Route The findings of the study are being disseminated to the sector. As well as the event we held (see above) we have been asked to write about findings for the Journal of Fertility Counselling, and the specially produced summary will be distrubuted widely in its electronic and and copy forms. See: http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/parentingculturestudies/files/2012/06/Summary_Assessing-Child-Welfare-final.pdf It was noted at the dissemination meeting held about the event in September 2012 that this study provides the first proper look at this area of assisted conception treatment in the present context, and can and should be used to inform those working in the sector about issues to think about. Our dissemination work will continue over the coming months. For a write up about the meeting published in Bionews (an online publication widely read in the assisted conception sector see: http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_177857.asp)
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology
URL http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/parentingculturestudies/research-themes/pregnancy/wo/
 
Description Some of our key findings have proved to be of particular interest to the HFEA (which was well represented at our launch event in September 2012) and have the potential to inform the advice given in future iterations of its Code of Practice for assited conception clinics, when this comes to be revised. In particular, continued suspicion of single women patients amongst some clinic staff clearly cuts against the grain of the intention of the architects of the recent reform. The widespread, entirely erroneous belief that counselling is legally mandated in certain circumstances identified by the study has become a topic for discussion in other research and among research users.
First Year Of Impact 2014
Sector Healthcare
Impact Types Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description Comment : the role of counsellors in infertility clinics 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact This was a comment piece for the BioNews - a widely read OnLine resource from Progress Educational Trust - and so would be expected to be read by lots of progessionals in the field of assited conception.

Emails from individuals requesting more information about the study.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013
URL http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_249841.asp
 
Description Commentary on the study published in 'Bionews' titled, 'Single women using donor insemination: Thoughts on the discussion of the latest findings from the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A commentary written by two people who attended the dissemination event about the study, focussing on the findings about single women seeking treatment.

http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_201505.asp

As noted above, a commentary for the on-line publication 'Bionews'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
URL http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_201505.asp
 
Description Publication of summary of Key Findings 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Emails from individuals (academic colleagues and practitioners) asking for more information about the study, pick-up and link to publication e.g. http://www.chimat.org.uk/resource/item.aspx?RID=137285

Further dissemination of study findings.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
URL http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/parentingculturestudies/files/2012/06/Summary_Assessing-Child-Welfare-final....