Case: M v F
Rose-Marie Drury represented the surrogate mother (on a pro bono basis) in a case that led to a significant change in the law for single parents seeking to have a child with the help of a surrogate.
The couple (M and F), who had entered into a surrogacy arrangement in the UK, separated before the child was born. M and F were the child’s biological parents but F and the surrogate mother were the legal parents (because, under English and Welsh law, the woman who gives birth to a child is the legal mother).
Despite the fact that the surrogate mother had surrendered care of the child to M, and F had made clear that he wanted no involvement in the child’s life - the law at that time prevented M, as a single parent, from obtaining a parental order that would make her a legal parent and permanently extinguish the rights the surrogate had.
As a direct result of this case and other similar cases, the law was changed in January 2019 and single parents can now apply for a parental order following a surrogacy arrangement.
A link to the judgment can be found here.