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22 Child & Fam. L. Q. 46 (2010)
Clashing Symbols - Reconciling Support for Fathers and Fatherless Families after the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008

handle is hein.journals/chilflq22 and id is 48 raw text is: 46 Clashing symbols? Reconciling support for fathers and fatherless families after the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 Leanne Smith* The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 extends the attribution of legal parenthood following assisted reproduction to encompass a wider range of same-sex and fatherless families. The Act sparked a lengthy political debate rooted in widespread concern that its provisions will symbolically undermine fatherhood. This article examines the origins and legitimacy of concerns that support for fatherless (specifically lesbian) families presents a threat to the valuation of fatherhood. It suggests that such a view is false and underpinned by fundamental confusion over the separate significance of genetic and social parenthood which remains evident in family law and policy notwithstanding the recent reforms. The article presents the view that further steps to increase the recognition of genetic parents as well as social parents might encourage a shift from the gendered politics which polarises support for fathers and fatherless families. INTRODUCTION H ow to respond to the fragmentation of parenthood in situations where a child's genetic parents are not also the parents bringing up that child - in other words, the 'social parents' - is a key contemporary issue in family law.' The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (HFE Act 2008) alters significantly the attribution of legal parenthood following assisted reproduction, extending the range of situations in which the biological and social components of parenthood can be legally separated. By taking steps which facilitate the establishment of fatherless (and motherless) parenting arrangements, the new Act's parenthood provisions shun the traditional, heterosexual family model that was shored up by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. In that sense, they signify a radical step forward in terms of who the law is prepared to recognise as a parent and on what basis. However, during its journey through Parliament, the Act provoked a prolific backlash of responses in which the primacy of the heterosexual family was reasserted. These responses were targeted in particular at section 14(2)(b) which substitutes the reference to the child's need for a father, previously contained in section 13(5) of the 1990 Act, with a reference to the need for supportive parenting. Those who opposed this section frequently pitted the interests of fathers and the interests of fatherless Lecturer in Law, Cardiff Law School. The 'fragmentation' of traditionally based parent/child relationships has been extensively documented. See, for example, C. Smart and B. Neale, Family Fragments (Polity Press, 1999) and R. Collier and S. Sheldon, Fragmenting Fatherhood: A Socio-Legal Study (Hart Publishing, 2008).