Christian MP weeps telling story of her stillborn baby

Sharon Hodgson’s voice cracked with emotion and she paused several times during her speech as she explained what happened to her third child Lucy.

Colleagues on the Labour benches could also be seen dabbing their eyes as she explained Lucy would have no birthday parties and, to her “horror”, no birth or death certificate after she was born at 23.5 weeks but stillborn.

The emotional scenes emerged during debate on the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill, which includes introducing formal recording for a stillborn child born before 24 weeks’ gestation and giving coroners the power to investigate late-stage stillbirths.

Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins said the “care considerations” for parents experiencing a stillbirth would be “similar for those experiencing a late miscarriage”, as she told MPs the Government would review the issue.

“I am pleased that clause three will provide for the Government to review this issue and to look at whether the current law on the registration of stillbirths should be changed to allow for the registration of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks gestation.”

The Bill, brought forward by Tory former minister Tim Loughton and which passed at second reading, also seeks to see how the Government can extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples, plus to include a mother or second parent’s name on marriage and…