Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

I was going on to address that and other issues. I did, indeed, take on board the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay. If somebody refused counselling, she might rule herself out. However, we need to devote attention to that consideration. The noble Earl raised the issue of the need for parents to be open about the true conception of the children and for information to be provided in a sensitive way. Clearly that must be dealt with in counselling, although there are organisations such as the Donor Conception Network which work with potential parents of donor-conceived children to help and encourage them to tell their children about their origins, and to tell them the best means of going about this. Things are being done. However, the arguments that have been made this evening about the need for counselling have been extremely persuasive, so I am happy to take this back. I give no guarantee that we can make changes but I am certainly happy to look at it because I think it is an extremely important issue. I take on board the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, about the need for all parents, irrespective of their sex, to receive counselling. We should also look at that carefully. Amendment No. 57ZA would require patients to receive information and advice on child development, and to have participated in a discussion with a specialist social worker, paediatrician, psychologist or other person before receiving treatment. The amendment would introduce an additional stage for fertility patients. It would seem unfair to require people who, through no fault of their own, need medical assistance to get pregnant to undertake these additional steps and not those who happen to get pregnant unassisted. It is highly unlikely to be welcomed by parents. That is not to say that it would necessarily be a bad thing. There is no evidence to suggest that people who are unable to conceive naturally are more in need of information about raising children or child development than any other parents, or indeed that they would benefit from discussions with a psychologist. The existing requirements of providing information and offering counselling already provide an opportunity for people to discuss issues that are relevant to them. This amendment imposes a significant extra requirement which we do not consider necessary. If there were genuine concerns about the well-being of any child born through IVF, particularly that the child is likely to come into harm, the HFEA guidance on the welfare of the child says that treatment should be refused. People undergoing assisted conception treatment are fully committed to wanting children. They have often been trying to conceive for many years and any resulting child will be treasured and loved. We do not think that people who undertake treatment require more information or advice on parenting than those people who conceive naturally. The Bill already takes into account the welfare of the child to be born through treatment, and requires that people seeking treatment be given the opportunity to receive counselling. Possibly we will make that stronger, though not mandatory. Earlier this evening we had a discussion about the literature available to prospective parents. As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay, pointed out, this literature is provided by the HFEA. I am sure that the Government will be very willing to enter into discussions with the HFEA to see whether the information provided is entirely adequate, and if not, how it could be improved. I trust that the noble Earl will be willing to withdraw his amendment.