On air: Does a child need a father?

This is how The Times reported a vote this week in the British parliament that means fertility clinics no longer need to consider a child’s need for a father. The new law has given new impetus to an issue that’s been burning for years.

Are children brought up lesbian couples or single mothers necessarily worse off? Is the presence of a father always desirable? What can a man bring to a child’s life that a woman can’t?