There is a difference between the male and female position here. For the male to allow these embryos to be used does not involve any physical demand on them. For a woman to have to use the embryo because the man wants her to involves nine months carrying the baby, with the attendent problems that can arise and then having to go through delivery, again, still not in this day and age a totally risk free process. Maybe the law should say that the woman should consent to the embryos being implanted in the womb of a surrogate, if the father so wished and could arrange. That would surely be a more equitable solution to the problem.

Grab - I am aware of the problems for some fathers here but there are abandoned mothers who never see a penny form their exes. It goes both ways. There are also men and women who choose to raise their children without expecting support from the absent partner. Who's to say that these two women don't have new partners who would be willing to accept the child as their own, leaving the biological father out of the picture - is this what possibly worries the sperm donors? And come to that - what about sperm donation - where would the CSA go with that one, if an unsupported mother was on state benefite (which is when a lot of these cases kick in) following AI from a sperm donor?