Transgender man who gave birth to his child denied official register as father

Freddy McConnell lost the challenge to be named his child's father. Photo / Getty Images

A transgender man gave birth to his child in 2018 and wanted to be registered on the birth certificate as the child's father, not the mother.

On Wednesday, Freddy McConnell lost the legal battle at England's High Court which will put his status on the child's birth certificate as the mother.

The 32-year-old was born a woman but has lived as a man for several years. He was biologically able to get pregnant and had legally become a man last year.

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Don’t worry, I’ll post them all again separately too 🤓💅 . European premier @sheffdocfest tomorrow! Come say hi! . Flying solo on this trip, which feels weird as it’ll be my first time away for more than 12 hours since becoming a papa 😅 . If you see me out late over the weekend, please remind me that I could be in bed getting uninterrupted sleep 🍻😴🤷‍♂️ . . . . . . #seahorsedad #gaydad #rainbowfamily #nosleep #sheffdocfest #transpride #transdad #parisisburning

A post shared by Freddy McConnell (@freddy.mcconnell) on Jun 7, 2019 at 2:12pm PDT

McConnell's story as a transgender who gave birth is told in the documentary Seahorse, a reference to the fish that reproduces through male pregnancies.

President of the High Court Family Division, Andrew McFarlane, ruled against McConnell's request to be registered as the father.

"There is a material difference between a person's gender and their status as a parent," the judge said.

"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 recognised in law as male, to become pregnant and give birth to their child."

"Whilst that person's gender is 'male', their parental status, which derives from their biological role in giving birth, is that of 'mother'."

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“Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all.” . - Emily Dickinson

A post shared by Freddy McConnell (@freddy.mcconnell) on Sep 25, 2019 at 5:36am PDT

The new father told The Guardian: "If it is upholding the status quo then I am really worried about what this means not just for me but other trans people who are parents or who want to become parents."

"It has serious implications for non-traditional family structures. It upholds the view that only the most traditional forms of family are properly recognised or treated equally. It's just not fair."

McConnell started testosterone treatments in 2013 although he retained his female reproductive system.

In 2016 he paused the hormone treatment so he could get pregnant from a sperm donor..