Louisa Ghevaert

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Louisa Maria Ghevaert (born September 1974) is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Contents

Education

Louisa Ghevaert read BA Degree in History (Hons) at the University of Bristol, before undertaking the Common Professional Entrance (CPE) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at the College of Law in Guildford. [1] [2]

Career

Ghevaert specialises in fertility, surrogacy, donor conception, posthumous conception, adoption and family law, working on landmark legal cases for changes and improvements to fertility, children law, and family law for families in the UK. She is the founder of specialist fertility and family law firm Louisa Ghevaert Associates. [3] [4] [5] In 2008, Ghevaert acted for British intended parents in Re X and Y (foreign surrogacy) 2008 EWHC 3030 (Fam), being the first case in UK legal history to test the law for British parents conceiving through an international commercial surrogacy arrangement in the Ukraine. [6]

In 2009 Ghevaert acted for Melanie and Robert Gladwin saving their frozen embryos from destruction, following which the Department of Health issued a change to embryo storage law in the UK for surrogate pregnancies, for which she was named The Times Lawyer of the Week. [7] In 2010, Ghevaert acted for British intended parents who conceived a child with a US surrogate in Re L (a minor) [2010] EWHC 3146 (Fam). The ruling resulted in a precedent that the welfare of the child is decisive over the public policy ban of commercial surrogacy except in the clearest cases of abuse of public policy. [8]

Ghevaert acted for Donna and Dean Marshall in 2011, helping them win a rare legal battle for IVF funding on the NHS against their local hospital authority. [9] In 2012, she acted for Andrea Heywood, who aged 24 was denied NHS funding for IVF by her local hospital authority for being too young. [10] In 2014, Ghevaert acted for the intended father in a UK surrogacy dispute about a child’s care and parentage in JP v LP & Ors [2014] EWHC 595 (Fam). The legal ruling highlighted the risks of informal agreements and established a legal framework for cases where criteria for a parental order cannot be met following marital breakdown and divorce. [11] [12]

From 2014 to 2018, Ghevaert was a member of the cross-organizational Surrogacy UK Working Party on Surrogacy Law Reform [13] and contributor to the report on surrogacy in the UK Myth busting and reform (2015). [14] This informed parliamentary debate on surrogacy law reform and policy in The House of Lords in 2016 and subsequent work on reform of surrogacy law in the UK. [15] She was part of the wife’s legal team in Y v A Healthcare NHS Trust & The HFEA & Ors 2018, a first-of-its kind legal ruling from the Court of Protection to extract and store sperm from a fatally injured man for use in posthumous fertility treatment. [16] [17] Ghevaert was awarded a place on The Lawyer Hot 100 List 2018 for her legal work on cases regarding the family, fertility and medical sectors. They described her "as an influential figure when it comes to ensuring fertility laws are fit for purpose in the 21st century". [18]

Through 2018, 2019 and 2020, Ghevaert’s expert legal evidence in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court resulted in further legal rulings for a woman rendered infertile following a delay in detecting cancer in smear tests and biopsies, enabling for the first time recovery of damages for commercial surrogacy, donor conception and fertility treatment in the US, XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 2832 [19] and Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14. [20]

Publications

Ghevaert is a specialist contributor on surrogacy law in practitioner reference book The International Family Law Practice. [21] She also contributed to the book Legal and Regulatory Risks to Patients: The UK Context. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In vitro fertilisation</span> Assisted reproductive technology procedure

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova from their ovaries and letting a man's sperm fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory. After the fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is transferred by catheter into the uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artificial insemination</span> Pregnancy through in vivo fertilization

Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment for humans, and is a common practice in animal breeding, including dairy cattle and pigs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisted reproductive technology</span> Methods to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes or embryos, and/or the use of fertility medication. When used to address infertility, ART may also be referred to as fertility treatment. ART mainly belongs to the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Some forms of ART may be used with regard to fertile couples for genetic purpose. ART may also be used in surrogacy arrangements, although not all surrogacy arrangements involve ART. The existence of sterility will not always require ART to be the first option to consider, as there are occasions when its cause is a mild disorder that can be solved with more conventional treatments or with behaviors based on promoting health and reproductive habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrogacy</span> Arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for designated parent(s).

Surrogacy is an adoption arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to childbirth on behalf of another person(s) who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, dangers or undesirable factors of pregnancy, or when pregnancy is a medical impossibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sperm bank</span> Facility that purchases, stores and sells human semen

A sperm bank, semen bank, or cryobank is a facility or enterprise which purchases, stores and sells human semen. The semen is produced and sold by men who are known as sperm donors. The sperm is purchased by or for other persons for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy or pregnancies other than by a sexual partner. Sperm sold by a sperm donor is known as donor sperm.

Egg donation is the process by which a woman donates eggs to enable another woman to conceive as part of an assisted reproduction treatment or for biomedical research. For assisted reproduction purposes, egg donation typically involves in vitro fertilization technology, with the eggs being fertilized in the laboratory; more rarely, unfertilized eggs may be frozen and stored for later use. Egg donation is a third-party reproduction as part of assisted reproductive technology.

The main family law of Japan is Part IV of Civil Code. The Family Register Act contains provisions relating to the family register and notifications to the public office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reproductive medicine</span> Branch of medicine

Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine concerning the male and female reproductive systems. It encompasses a variety of reproductive conditions, their prevention and assessment, as well as their subsequent treatment and prognosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which is in charge of human embryo research, along with monitoring and licensing fertility clinics in the United Kingdom.

Fertility tourism is the practice of traveling to another country or jurisdiction for fertility treatment, and may be regarded as a form of medical tourism. A person who can become pregnant is considered to have fertility issues if they are unable to have a clinical pregnancy after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. Infertility, or the inability to get pregnant, affects about 8-12% of couples looking to conceive or 186 million people globally. In some places, rates of infertility surpass the global average and can go up to 30% depending on the country. Areas with lack of resources, such as assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), tend to correlate with the highest rates of infertility.

Sperm donation is the provision by a man of his sperm with the intention that it be used in the artificial insemination or other "fertility treatment" of one or more women who are not his sexual partners in order that they may become pregnant by him. Where pregnancies go to full term, the sperm donor will be the biological father of every baby born from his donations. The man is known as a sperm donor and the sperm he provides is known as "donor sperm" because the intention is that the man will give up all legal rights to any child produced from his sperm, and will not be the legal father. Sperm donation may also be known as "semen donation".

Religious response to assisted reproductive technology deals with the new challenges for traditional social and religious communities raised by modern assisted reproductive technology. Because many religious communities have strong opinions and religious legislation regarding marriage, sex and reproduction, modern fertility technology has forced religions to respond.

Surrogacy in India and Indian surrogates became increasingly popular amongst intended parents in industrialised nations because of the relatively low costs and easy access offered by Indian surrogacy agencies. Clinics charged patients between $10,000 and $28,000 for the complete package, including fertilization, the surrogate's fee, and delivery of the baby at a hospital. Including the costs of flight tickets, medical procedures and hotels, this represented roughly a third of the price of the procedure in the UK and a fifth of that in the US. Surrogate mothers received medical, nutritional and overall health care through surrogacy agreements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrogacy laws by country</span>

The legal aspects of surrogacy in any particular jurisdiction tend to hinge on a few central questions:

Law in Australia with regard to children is often based on what is considered to be in the best interest of the child. The traditional and often used assumption is that children need both a mother and a father, which plays an important role in divorce and custodial proceedings, and has carried over into adoption and fertility procedures. As of April 2018 all Australian states and territories allow adoption by same-sex couples.

The Akanksha Infertility Clinic is a women's health centre located in Anand, Gujarat, India, and headed by Dr Nayna Patel. The clinic was founded in 1999, and was originally focused on In Vitro Fertilization. India declared commercial surrogacy legal in 2002; however the clinic did not begin to do surrogacy until 2004. Patel, who appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show in 2007, has produced more than 1000 surrogate babies as of October 2015.

Surrogacy is legal in Canada provided that it is altruistic (unpaid). The Assisted Human Reproduction Act of 2004 criminalizes commercial surrogacy. The validity of surrogacy contracts and the process for establishing parenthood of the child is governed by provincial law. Quebec law did not recognize surrogacy contracts from 1994 to 2023, and continues to regulate them more strictly, whereas British Columbia has the most permissive laws governing surrogacy. Provinces also vary in the degree to which they compensate surrogacy expenses, such as IVF procedures.

Sarah Martins da SilvaFRCOG is a British gynaecologist and researcher specialising in male infertility. Martins da Silva is a Clinical Reader in reproductive medicine at the University of Dundee. She also works as an honorary consultant gynaecologist at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, specialising in fertility problems and assisted conception. She was named one of the BBC's "100 Women of 2019" for her contribution to fertility science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Use of assisted reproductive technology by LGBT people</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people people wishing to have children may use assisted reproductive technology. In recent decades, developmental biologists have been researching and developing techniques to facilitate same-sex reproduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstantin N. Svitnev</span>

Konstantin N. Svitnev is an international reproductive lawyer of Russian origin. Svitnev was born in 1966 and grew up in Moscow. Svitnev spent much of his legal career as an advocate for gender equality and reproductive rights...

References

  1. ↑ "19/01/2011, Woman's Hour - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  2. ↑ "Was it legal to create a grandson with a dead man's sperm?". The Times. September 13, 2018.
  3. ↑ "M & S PROFILE: Louisa Ghevaert". New Law Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  4. ↑ Donnelly, Laura (2017-03-10). "Couple's delight as lesbian surrogates give them the children they longed for". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2019-07-21.
  5. ↑ "Britons fuel rise in global surrogacy trade". The Independent. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
  6. ↑ Campbell, Denis; correspondent, health (2010-04-05). "Couples who pay surrogate mothers could lose right to raise the child". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  7. ↑ Tsang, Linda (2009-10-01). "Lawyer of the Week: Louisa Ghevaert". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  8. ↑ "Childless couples win the right to pay surrogate mothers". 8 December 2010.
  9. ↑ Beckford, Martin (2011-12-19). "Couple win IVF funding battle with NHS". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  10. ↑ "Too young to have IVF: 24-year-old Andrea Heywood fights for her right". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  11. ↑ Prynne, Miranda (2014-03-06). "DIY surrogate pregnancy deal ends in court battle". Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  12. ↑ "Case leads to surrogacy advice". BBC News. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  13. ↑ "Surrogacy - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. 14 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "Surrogacy in the UK: Myth busting and reform Report of the Surrogacy UK Working Group on Surrogacy Law Reform". 20 November 2015.
  15. ↑ Ghevaert, Louisa. "Surrogacy in the UK: Time for legal reform?".
  16. ↑ "Dying man with brain injury has sperm extracted in bid to allow wife to become pregnant". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  17. ↑ "Sperm taken from fatally injured man". The Times. 2019-07-11. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 2018-09-20.
  18. ↑ "The Lawyer Hot 100 2018: Louisa Ghevaert, Michelmores". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  19. ↑ "Woman left infertile after NHS failed to detect cancer for four years awarded £580k to cover surrogacy costs". The Telegraph. 19 December 2018.
  20. ↑ "UK woman wins claim for NHS to pay US surrogacy costs". TheGuardian.com . April 2020.
  21. ↑ Hodson, David (August 2021). "International Family Law Practice Sixth edition". Jordan publishing. ISBN   978-1-78473477-0.
  22. ↑ Mathur, Raj, ed. (2015-03-11). Reducing risk in fertility treatment. London: Springer. ISBN   978-1-4471-5257-6. OCLC   904799138.
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