A transgender man in England has lost a court battle to be labeled his child’s father on the birth certificate.
Freddy McConnell, who legally transitioned to male, was the first transgender man to give birth in England in 2018. McConnell filed an appeal to be listed as the father on the child’s birth certificate after the register office informed him he must be written down as the mother.
A judge, Sir Andrew McFarlane, dismissed an application for judicial review in September, and on Wednesday three Court of Appeal judges ruled against McConnell, saying that being registered as the child’s mother did not violate McConnell’s rights or the child’s rights.
McConnell responded to the news by tweeting, “Disappointing, conservative decision but we knew this would be a long fight. Don’t lose hope. We are applying to the Supreme Court. Trans parents will get legal recognition.”
Disappointing, conservative decision but we knew this would be a long fight. Don’t lose hope. We are applying to the Supreme Court.
Trans parents will get legal recognition. ✊❤️
— Freddy McConnell (@freddymcconnell) April 29, 2020
“This is the reality his son will grow up knowing and today’s judgment shows how the law has not kept pace,” McConnell’s lawyer, Andrew Spearman, said Wednesday.
The case could now head to Britain’s Supreme Court.
