What’s the news? The Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc) Bill is going through Parliament and due to be considered again on 18 January 2019.
What will it do? It will provide that opposite sex couples may enter a civil partnership. At the moment, it is only same sex couples that can marry or enter into a civil partnership. It deals with the Supreme Court declaration that the current law is incompatible with our international obligations.
Anything else? The Bill also provides for the registration of the names of the mother of each party to a marriage or civil partnership. This has to be a boon for those that need to trace beneficiaries … or simply just interesting for those who like to trace the family tree!
It also provides for the registration of stillborn deaths and giving coroners the power to investigate stillborn deaths. I think this is a good idea that may ultimately expand medical consideration and research into stillborn deaths. It also gives dignity to those families who suffer this terrible loss.
Watch this space. If you want to know more about how parliament makes laws, click here
I have also written about this before here