CARE: Poll shows public against downgrading fathers

A new poll commissioned for Christian Action, Research and Education (CARE) has revealed that nearly four out of five people believe that the Government is wrong to allow IVF clinics to scrap the rule that they must take into account a child's need for a father when approving bids for fertility treatment.

The Government plans are part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which is to be debated in the House of Lords on Monday.

In the poll , 77 per cent of respondents said they believed that it is very important for IVF providers to consider a child's need for a father when processing applications. The figure rises to 80 per cent among women and to 84 per cent among 18- to 24-year-olds.

Only 10 per cent of people think that it is fair that the planned changes make it illegal for some children to have a legal father - for example if they are conceived by IVF for lesbian couples. The figure falls to 8 per cent among women and to 7 per cent among 18- to 24-year-olds.

The Government Bill is expected to face tough opposition on Monday when it is debated in the House of Lords for the first time.

Pro-family campaigners are warning that ministers are sending all the wrong messages by downgrading fatherhood at the very moment that a mounting body of research demonstrates its importance to the emotional health of children and their academic and social development.

The chief executive of CARE, Nola Leach, said: "All the research shows that children, especially boys, are far more likely to do well at school, steer clear of crime and build careers and successful families of their own if they have a father playing an active part in their lives."

Daniel Boucher, director of parliamentary affairs for CARE added, "The last thing we should be doing now is officially encouraging fatherlessness. A generation of children is being betrayed."

The poll also found that 83 per cent of people believe that the absence of a father damages children in areas such as their behaviour, their attitude towards other people, their mood and emotions and their academic progress.

The public was also concerned that politicians are putting the rights of adults before those of children in framing the new law, with 34 per cent of respondents feeling that adults were being given priority compared to 18 per cent who thought children were being favoured.

Nearly 50 MPs from all parties have put down a Commons motion condemning the Bill.

The poll findings for CARE mirror the results of the Government's official consultation on the Bill. which found that of 505 published responses to the Department of Health's Bill, only 103 supported it.

The Early Day Motion, signed by 45 MPs and sponsored by the Labour MP Geraldine Smith, expressed "great concern that the Government has proposed in the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill removing the requirement that those providing IVF services must have regard for the need of any resulting child for a father".

The MPs express "concern that, given the wealth of research demonstrating the very important and distinctive contribution fathers bring to parenting, these proposals are profoundly misinformed and clearly undermine the best interests of the child".

They add that the proposals are "inconsistent with the recent statement made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions that `we want to significantly reduce the numbers of children with no dad on their birth certificate', and prioritises the desires of adults over the rights of children in the area of assisted reproduction".

The MPs are calling on the Government to ensure that the Bill preserves the father's provision in the 1990 Act and does not propose denying any child from birth a legal father who is male.