The hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) makes a sensible point. I can only assume that the wording in the clause is the manifestation of a technical problem. The words

''as if the person had been born as a child of the marriage'' invite fiction, but everything that we have done so far has been about encouraging clarity, good information and honesty in relationships. Adoption is not about pretending that someone was born as a child of the marriage, but about people taking parental responsibility for a child and looking after him to the best of their ability—as though he were one of their children.

I cannot imagine that the amendment will cause huge dissent. I can only think that the Parliamentary Secretary will say that a difficult technical problem prevents us from sensibly rearranging the wording of the clause. I agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I hope that we can change the wording.