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Tomorrow’s Children

Background

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended) set out a broad framework which obliges clinics to make an assessment of the welfare of any child born before fertility treatment is provided.

Working within this framework, the HFEA provides detailed guidance to clinics on how to interpret the statutory requirements to take into account the welfare of any child who might be born as a result of treatment.
 
In 2005 the HFEA launched the welfare of the child consultation ´Tomorrow's Children', which looked at how clinics should protect the interests of children born through fertility treatment.

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Consultation process

The HFEA consulted with a wide range of stakeholders through events which were particularly aimed at people working in clinics, patients, academics, lawyers and other relevant groups.
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The consultation focused on three key areas:

• The kind of enquiries (medical or social) to be made of prospective parents
• The factors to be taken into account in the assessment and whether these should include medical risks, physical risks, psychological risks and social factors
• Whether patients undergoing different kinds of treatment need different assessment and information, such as people using donor conception

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Consultation outcome

At its January 2006 meeting The Authority considered the findings of the consultation and recommended that centres should carry out welfare of the child assessments that consider factors which may pose a risk of serious medical, physical or psychological harm to a resulting child.

The Authority introduced the following changes to its guidance:

• A clear focus on areas of serious harm, with vague and subjective social questions removed from the assessment
• That clinics should assume they will provide treatment unless there is evidence that the child is likely to be at risk of serious harm
• Clinicians should use their professional judgement to decide which cases warrant further investigation rather than being obliged to contact a patient's GP in each and every case
• Clinics should encourage donor conception patients to be open with their donor conceived child at an early age

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Further information

Under the revised legislation, section 13 (5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended), removes the ‘need for a father’ provision of the welfare of the child assessment and replaces it with ‘the need for supportive parenting. Supportive parenting is defined in the 8th Code of Practice as a ‘commitment to the health, well being and development of the child’.

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Supporting documents

• Consultative meeting report
  Glasgow (82.70 Kb)
• Consultative meeting report
  London (82 Kb)
• Consultative meeting report
  Manchester (72 Kb)
• Consultation document (241 Kb)

Reports and Revised Guidance:

• Tomorrow's Children (366 Kb)
  Report of the review
• Revised guidance (51 Kb)
  Welfare of the Child and information sections of the Code of Practice
• What you need to know about the welfare of the child assessment (32 Kb)
  This patient leaflet gives information on the welfare of the child assessment carried out before the start of treatment

•  Press Release - 'Improved welfare checks system will be better, fairer and clearer for fertility patients, GPs and clinics'

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Page last updated: 31 January 2012

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