§ 11 Clause 29, page 17, leave out line 1
§ The Lord ChancellorMy Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 11. I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 27 and 31.
Clause 28(2) provides that if a married woman carries a child as a result of sperm, embryo or egg donation, then her husband is treated as the father of the child unless it is shown that he did not consent.
The effect of Amendment No. 31 will be to ensure that if the husband dies during a pregnancy brought about by one of the techniques regulated by the Bill, the mother will be eligible for widowed mother's allowance, just as she would have been if she had been carrying a child conceived naturally.
Mothers of AID children in England and Wales are already eligible for this allowance as a result of an amendment made to the Social Security Act 1975 by the Family Law Reform Act 1987. This amendment extends eligibility to those whose pregnancy resulted from other artificial techniques and has the effect of applying the provision to Scotland. The amendment makes similar provision for Northern Ireland.
Amendments Nos. 11 and 27 are drafting amendments, the only effect of which is to open up Schedule 4 to minor and consequential amendments such as the amendment to the social security Acts which are not, strictly speaking, about status.
Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 11.—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.