KEY POINTS:
Inmates who want to father babies from behind bars will no longer be able to get prison staff to transport their semen so their wives or partners can be artificially inseminated.
The ban comes after a seven-month investigation into how convicted pack rapist Peter McNamara was able to
get his partner pregnant while he was in Rimutaka Prison last year.
In a report released exclusively to the Herald, it has been revealed that McNamara's sperm was not smuggled out - as originally thought - but taken to his partner, who was waiting at the prison gate, by a staff member.
The sample had earlier been collected in a specimen jar given to McNamara by a prison nurse.
The nurse had sought guidance from a team leader who said in the UK it was acceptable for staff to assist with fertility treatments.
Prison Services assistant general manager Bridget White said there was nothing in the law preventing prisoners from fathering children while in prison.
At the time McNamara provided his sample there were also no departmental policies or guidelines on the matter.
That has now changed and staff have been told they are not allowed to facilitate the transfer of semen for the purposes of artificial insemination.
If there are any cases which are deemed to have exceptional circumstances - such as a patient undergoing chemotherapy of radiation treatment which can destroy sperm - the matter must be referred to the chief executive for consideration.
Ms White said the directive will remain in place while a policy - which will take into account legal, health and human right issues - is drawn up on the matter.
Auckland Civil Liberties president Barry Wilson said a prison could not be forced to assist with fertility treatment but there was no law stopping inmates from becoming fathers and they should not be prevented from doing so in the future.
National Party Corrections spokesman Simon Power said there was a difference between inmates having access to health services and fertility treatment for their partners.
"I think the public would be surprised to learn that people in our prison system who have deprived others of their liberties are not having fundamental liberties of their own taken off them.
"This is a different issue to being guaranteed fundamental access to health services."
Mr Power said Corrections obviously did not envisage fertility treatment being part of an inmate's access to the health system or else it would have created a policy on it in the first place.
Prison Services acting assistant general manager Karen Urwin said it was not realistic for the department to have a policy covering every eventuality or issue it may encounter.
She said no staff member had been disciplined over the matter as there were no clear guidelines at the time and the staff involved were acting in "good faith".
Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor said in March that it was "inappropriate" for inmates to father children but was last night out of the country and not available for comment.
What happened
* In April 2006, convicted pack rapist Peter McNamara arranged to have his sperm taken out of prison so his partner could get pregnant.
* A prison nurse gave him a specimen jar for the sample after getting advice from a team leader who said assisting with fertility treatment was acceptable in the UK.
* The jar was taken to Joanne Percy at the prison gates and she went straight to a fertility clinic to be artificially inseminated.
* McNamara applied for leave to attend the birth of his child in December 2006 - triggering an investigation into how he managed to impregnate his partner from behind bars.
Key report findings
* There is no law preventing prisoners from becoming fathers while in prison.
* There are no guidelines for prison staff about whether it is okay to assist inmates with fertility treatments, but a temporary ban has been introduced pending a new policy.
* Prison management was not aware of what was happening due to patient confidentiality.
* No staff members have been disciplined as a result of their actions but the team leader who said it was alright should have sought advice from higher up.
