The UK’s fertility clinic regulator has launched a public consultation on what qualities are needed to become an IVF parent. The current guidelines require clinics to take into account the welfare of the child, but there is no standardised process for assessing prospective parents’ suitability. Under the most radical proposal for discussion, only medical factors, such as the possibility of HIV or other infectious diseases, would have to be considered. Most officials of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority are understood to favour this approach.

Dr Mohammed Taranissi, one of London’s leading IVF doctors, is pushing for minimum restrictions. “We as doctors are not really qualified to make assessments of people’s suitability as parents,” he says. “If this [restriction] is really important it should apply across the board, to anyone who is considering starting a family.”

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