Family proceedings

When considering an application by a biological father for leave to apply for an order under s 8 of the Children Act 1989 Act in respect of a child conceived using his sperm by a woman who, at the time of her artificial insemination, was party to a civil partnership, the reforms implemented in ss 42, 45 and 48 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, and the policy underpinning those reforms, namely to put lesbian couples and their children in exactly the same legal position as other types of parent and children, were relevant factors to be taken into account by the court, alongside all other relevant considerations, including the factors identified in s 10(9) of the 1989 Act. In some cases, the reforms, and the policy underpinning those reforms, would be decisive. Each case was, however, fact specific. The position of a lesbian couple who had been granted