Transgender man who gave birth loses legal battle to be recorded as 'father' of the child, not 'mother'
A 32-year-old transgender man, who gave birth to a child but does not want to be called "mother" on a birth certificate, has reportedly lost his battle in a London High Court.
We had earlier reported Freddy McConnell, from Kent, wanted to be registered as a father or parent of the child. However, a judge on Wednesday, September 25, ruled against him after analyzing his argument.
The president of the Family Division of the High Court, Sir Andrew McFarlane, heard in court that McConnell, who was born a woman and now lives as a man after surgery, is a single parent.
Although McConnell was able to get pregnant biologically, he had legally become a man by the time his child was born. A registrar, however, told him that he would be registered as a mother of the child on the birth certificate according to the law. McConnell then decided to take legal action against the General Register Office.
Sir Andrew, in a ruling, said: "There is a material difference between a person's gender and their status as a parent. Being a 'mother', whilst hitherto always associated with being female, is the status afforded to a person who undergoes the physical and biological process of carrying a pregnancy and giving birth."
"It is now medically and legally possible for an individual, whose gender is recognized in law as male, to become pregnant and give birth to their child. While that person's gender is 'male', their parental status, which derives from their biological role in giving birth, is that of 'mother'," according to the Daily Mail.
McConnell's lawyer, Karen Holden, the founder of A City Law Firm, said that she was disappointed by the ruling. "As a firm that champions equality, we are of course disappointed at the judgment and it highlights how the law is slow to keep up to modern society."
"Freddy is legally a man and his legal papers display the same. In the UK he has the right to change his gender on his own birth certificate so why not his child's? Surely if you are going to move with modern times, the law has to finish the journey it has started," she added.