In the UK, a transgender man, who was born a woman, gave birth to a child but refuses to be registered as the mother on the birth certificate. He simply wants to be known as the child’s ” parent”. In fact, he explains that having taken the social, public and legal steps to become a man, he couldn’t stand being referred to by an “intrinsically feminine” term. “This comes back to defining the word, ‘mother’. Does this refer to the child’s mother or the person who gave birth to the child? According to the Registrar General, it means the person who has given birth to the child”.
This isn’t the first time a transgender man has given birth to a child in the UK or elsewhere in the world, but it is the first time that a person has refused to be recognised as the mother. Since “parent 2” is already used on forms for same sex couples or in the event of adoption, this transgender man is calling for the introduction of “parent 1”.
For further reading:
A man “now a woman” claims mother status
Germany: parentage under scrutiny following sex change
UK: facilitating a change in civil status for transgender people?
BioEdge,