The UK High Court has found that a Transgender man who gave birth to a baby boy should be registered as ‘mother’ due to their parental status of biologically giving birth to the child.
Freddy McConnell, a Transgender man, underwent inter-uterine insemination using a sperm donor and gave birth to a boy in 2018. Under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 and the Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations 1987, births in England and Wales must be registered with the details of the ‘father/parent’ and the ‘mother’. Despite the fact that Mr McConnell was legally a male, the Registrar General in England decided that he must be registered as the child’s mother.
Mr McConnell therefore brought judicial review proceedings, arguing that it would be in the child’s best interests to have his parent’s gender “appropriately identified” on his birth certificate. He sought a declaration that the requirement that he be registered as ‘mother’ was in breach of both their rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Court firstly looked at the definition of the term ‘mother’, which it interpreted as a biological process of conception, pregnancy and birth rather than particular to sex or gender. That meant that “whilst that person’s gender is ‘male’, their parental status, which derives from their biological role in giving birth, is that of ‘mother’.” The Court acknowledged that the right to gender identity and personal development was a fundamental aspect of the right to respect for private life, and required clear and substantial grounds for interference to be justified and proportionate.
The Court found, however, that the best interests of the child were the primary consideration. It was of the view that the Litigation Friend had not adequately explored the child’s right to information on the identity of his parents and, by extension, the right to know who gave birth to him. Ultimately, the Court believed that this was a matter of public policy rather than law.
Click here for the decision in full.