Court rules father who ‘identifies’ as a woman cannot be named ‘mother’ on daughter’s birth certificate

That title seems a little puzzling or crazy to you? Well, welcome to the surprises of 2020.

France’s highest court has ruled that a man who identifies as a woman cannot be listed as “mother” on his six-year-old daughter’s birth certificate.

According to reports, he was born biologically male and was officially ‘recognized’ as a woman in 2011. At the time he was married to a woman and had not had an operation to remove his male organs. They had a daughter in 2014.

Following the birth of their daughter, he sought to be recognized as the child’s second mother on her birth certificate and has fought for the matter for the past six years.

In 2018, an appeals court said that the 51-year-old could be marked as the “biological parent,” which would be a new term on a birth certificate, but the Cour de Cassation threw out most of that ruling on Wednesday, and refered the case back to a lower court for a new hearing.

The woman’s lawyer, Clelia Richard, described the ruling as “scandalous” and said it was a “lost opportunity.”

“The fight is unfortunately not over,” she said.

Another campaigner, Mathieu Stoclet, pointed out the “incoherence” of the woman being recognised as female by the French system, but at the same time as the child’s father.