title: Parents of children conceived through assisted conception.
abstract: Parental responsibility allows parents to exercise rights over their children and to make decisions on behalf of the child that are in the best interests of the welfare of the child. It is a crucial part of being a parent. In recognition of the changing demographic of the family resulting in more cohabiting couples and step families the law relating to parental responsibility was changed in 2003 and 2005. With the development of more effective assisted conception techniques and increased use of 'do-it-yourself ' insemination using semen purchased over the Internet it was necessary to amend the rules relating to parenthood as a result of assisted conception. This article considers the amendments relating to the recognition of parenthood introduced by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer in Health Law, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Griffith
mesh_terms: D030881:Disclosure; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Assisted conception; Parental responsibility; Same-sex couples