Blank Space campaign in parliament today

February 2025

WAY Widowed and Young's Blank Space campaign was debated in the House of Commons today (4 February 2025), brought to the chambers by MP Caroline Voaden, who is a former Chair of our charity. We are looking forward to working with Caroline and others to make the system fairer for bereaved mothers like Nicola in future.

As part of the debate in the House of Commons, Caroline shared WAY member Nicola's story:

"My name is Nicola, and I lived in Leicestershire, with my partner, Stewart. It was 2010 and we had just been through a successful IVF journey as he'd had testicular cancer 10 years previously. After getting a positive pregnancy test, six weeks later we found out that Stewart’s cancer had returned. He passed away seven months into my pregnancy, never getting the chance to meet the son he had so desperately fought for.

Having totally lost my whole future with the loss of my partner, I had the trauma of giving birth alone, and seeing all the other fathers coming into the maternity ward to support their wives/partners really brought home how utterly alone I now was.

I booked the appointment with the registrar knowing that I would be going alone, but took as much paperwork as possible to show that Stewart was the father. There were plenty of hospital documents signed by him, not only proving that he was the father but also detailing his documented wishes for our embryos in the unfortunate circumstances of his death.

However, the registrar explained that, because we were not married, Stewart had to be physically present to be named on the birth certificate. If we had been married, I could have registered the birth alone and his name would have been accepted without question. I said to the registrar 'but here is the undeniable evidence'. I didn’t count and I was sent away with a birth certificate that had a blank space where the father's name should have been.

We had made this baby together, literally and scientifically, and for him not to be recognised at all was devastating. 

I sought legal help immediately, although it was not a usual case for the solicitor. It took a year and over £1,000 to get to court. Stewart’s father attended with me, as the grandparents also felt aggrieved that their sone was not legally recognised as the father, despite all of the scientific evidence that he was.

The court took only a few minutes to discuss and approve the change to add Stewart to the birth certificate, almost as if they couldn't believe we had to go through such a process. With overwhelming evidence and the support of blood relatives, it was the obvious decision.

To have to go through this whilst bringing up a newborn on my own and grieving was utterly humiliating and exhausting. But I felt it was so important and a basic right that married couples get automatically, that I should be allowed the same respect.

My son is now 14, and he believes the law should have been updated by now. He cannot understand why, after so many cases like ours, mothers still have to go through the same struggle.

To politicians, I say: Laws need updating to bring equality to all widows whether they were married or not. It is a great disservice for the children of unmarried parents to not even acknowledge their father's existence. 

To other women going through this, the relief of finally seeing the father's name on the certificate is worth the fight. But no one should have to fight for this.

Through WAY, I have met a few of us in similar circumstances, but I felt very lucky that, due to the IVF, I had evidence that many others did not. They had to go through gruelling DNA tests and if they did not have the support of in-laws that was so, so hard for them."