Initially it sounds as though biological reality is being trumped by the niceties of political correctness. The press has been full of indignant articles, referring to “the destructive whims of people hell-bent on becoming parents at whatever cost to the potential baby” (Mary McDonagh, The Times). The proposed change in the law was described as a "dangerous social experiment" (The Daily Telegraph), and such parents were accused of “reducing parenthood to selfish consumerism” (John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, reported in the Guardian).
Perhaps these columnists are missing the point. Under the present system, a child born via an anonymous sperm donor will have no father recorded on his or her birth certificate and will have no contact with the (unknown) biological father. This remains the same under the proposed new law. It is nothing to do with displacing fathers – the father in these circumstances is an anonymous sperm donor. The proposed change recognises that the child was conceived during a relationship. It simply corrects the current law, which forces a lesbian couple to register the birth of a child as though the mother was single.
Suzy Ashworth