Flesh and Blood

After many hurdles and stumbling blocks, Diane triumphed again and made constitutional history when she was allowed to re-register her children's births. This is a story of life, death and procreation, an emotional roller-coaster that has been nine years of one woman's life. It shows how controversial policies are made that affect all our lives.

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After a particularly precarious pregnancy and after spending the first days of his life in the Intensive Care ward of the baby unit, Liam was finally allowed home. By then, it was almost four years after his father's death. Baby Joel was born three and a half years later. The legal battles were not over, however, as the law still prevented Diane from naming the boys' father on their birth certificates. After many hurdles and stumbling blocks, she triumphed again and made constitutional history when the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Deceased Fathers) Act finally came into force on 1 December 2003 and she was allowed to re-register her children's births. This is the personal story behind the headlines. For the first time, in her own words, Diane tells of the tears, the heartache and the joy behind this landmark journey. "Flesh and Blood" asks many important questions and helps provide some of the answers. It shows how controversial policies are made that affect all our lives. Beyond that, it is a simple story of life, death and procreation: an emotional roller-coaster that has been nine years of one woman's life.
"Flesh and Blood" would make riveting fiction - the fact that it is a true story makes it all the more compelling.