Mother is no longer gender-specific term, government lawyers say

Mother is no longer a gender-specific term that applies only to women, lawyers on behalf of the Government have said.

A barrister representing the Department of Health made the remarks at a High Court hearing over whether a transgender man can be recognised as a “father” on his child’s birth certificate.

The man, who was born a woman and is identifiable only as TT for legal reasons, became pregnant after undergoing successful fertility treatment despite already being legally recognised as a man. He has taken the General Registar and the Government to court after he was told he had to be cited as the child's mother, not father, on the birth certificate.

Earlier in the hearing, government lawyers cited confidential documents written by civil servants which suggested TT could simply be known as a “male mother”.

Echoing those documents, Ben Jaffey QC told the president of the High Court’s Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, that “the status of a mother is no longer gender specific”.

“Being a mother is no longer necessarily a gendered term. A man can be and, in this case of TT, is a mother. He has chosen to give birth to and lovingly raise a child,” he said.

His comments were supported by a Home Office source who told The Telegraph that under the current Gender Recognition Act, a woman who changed sex to become a man would still be regarded as the child’s mother.

“A change in gender does not affect a person’s status as the mother or father of a child,” the source said.

The source indicated that the Government would consider if any changes to legislation are needed once the verdict, which is expected from Sir Andrew in the coming weeks, has been handed down.

Mr Jaffey suggested that Sir Andrew should rule against TT’s claim because other transgender men who have given birth to children “happily” adopt the term mother.

“It is not an unusually held view in the transgender community to refer to a transgender man who has given birth to a child as a mother. They recognise the complexity of the situation,” he said.

However, TT’s team of lawyers argued that forcing their client to be registered as the child’s “mother” would be “insensitive, dehumanising and stressful”.

Hannah Markham QC told the court: “It could create a lack of dignity, misgendering and the continuation of gender dysphoria. It will also lead to severe anxiety in a society where we recognise the rights of transgender people under the Gender Recognition Act and where we are moving towards self identification for transgender people.”

Yesterday’s closing remarks came after Sir Andrew suggested that Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, should review current fertility legislation after TT was able to access a sperm donor whilst legally a man.

“The documents from the clinic say 'man'. I am inviting the Government to consider whether the operation of the HFEA Act needs to be looked at,” he told the court on Wednesday.

Concluding the hearing yesterday, Sir Andrew reiterated his invitation saying that “a significant amount of light had been shone on the issue” of whether transgender men are having fertility treatment with the UK’s legal framework.

“It is enough for me to feel the need to resubmit the invitation I made yesterday,” he said.

The Government’s lawyer Mr Jaffey agreed, saying that more guidance for transgender parents who choose to undergo fertility treatments “would be very sensible.”