Posthumous fathers to be registered

The government is set to change the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act to allow the father of a baby conceived after his death to be named on the birth certificate. The move follows the case of Marion Jordan, highlighted in Parliament by her MP Debra Shipley. Mrs Jordan conceived her son after her husband died of cancer, using a sample of frozen sperm taken before his death. 'This child is a wanted child and he should grow up knowing his father wanted him' said Mrs Shipley.

Several dozen babies in the UK are believed to have been conceived after their father's death, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph last week. But under current legislation, the children are legally fatherless. Following three years of consultation, the law will now change, but it is unlikely to allow posthumous fathers to be registered on birth certificates retrospectively.