Justice
Minister Alan Shatter has published the details of an
extremely radical and far-reaching reform of family law called the
proposed Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014.
A lengthy definition
it gives of “the best interests of the child” makes no reference to natural ties
or to mothers and fathers.
Therefore,
if enacted the bill would mean that the natural ties and the place of both a mother
and a father in a child’s life would have hugely diminished importance in the
eyes of Irish law.
A child’s parents in
all cases, including children conceived via
egg and sperm donation, will now be assumed to be the birth mother and the birth
mother’s male or female partner who has consented to becoming a parent. In cases
of surrogacy parenthood will have to be legally transferred to the
‘commissioning parents’.
The notes on the bill
state “It is acknowledged that this could limit the rights of a ‘known donor’” –
in other words, a biological parent – “who wishes to establish a legal
connection with a child. However, there is a balance of rights to be achieved
and the best interests of the child are likely to be served by having legal
certainty and security in his or her family unit.”
Minister for Justice
Alan Shatter said: “The draft Bill, published today, seeks to provide legal
clarity for all families in terms of their parental rights and responsibilities
with a central focus on ‘the best interests of the
child’.”
The
bill
makes no reference to marriage as anything other than one relationship status
among many or to having a mother and a father as
being in any way advantageous or that the natural ties are of any real
importance.
The Bill prohibits
commercial surrogacy but allows for commissioning parents to agree to pay
“reasonable costs” to the birth mother, which include “any reasonable travel or
accommodation costs associated with the pregnancy or birth”, and compensation
for unpaid leave taken by the birth mother within two months of the child’s
birth.
The Bill says nothing
about anonymous sperm donation. Minister Shatter said on RTE’s Today With Sean
O’Rourke that this was a matter for the Department of Health.
