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Trans (non-)parenthood: examining FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025]

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All rights reserved.
Date:8 JUN 2026
Third slide
Liam Davis, Lecturer, University of Liverpool School of Law and Social Justice

Liam Evans, Barrister, One Pump Court

This article considers the judgment in FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam). The case raised a novel legal issue about the interrelationship between the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA 2004) and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (HFEA 2008), namely, the ability of a married trans man with a Gender Recognition Certificate to be registered as a ‘father’ on his child’s birth certificate. The court ruled that this was not possible due to the effect of s 12 GRA 2004.

In this article we consider the potential inconsistencies which arise as a result of the judgment as well as its effect on birth registration rules. We argue that this judgment is yet another instance of the law prioritising a particular ideal of the family and legal parenthood rooted in the (cis-heteronormative) nuclear form.

Read the full article in Family Law Journal on L+UK® (subject to subscription) here.

Subscribe to Family Law Journal print here.

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