‘Who is My Parent? Is this my Child?’: the recognition (or lack thereof) of legal parenthood for transgender parents

Dr Bianca Jackson, Family law barrister, Coram Chambers

This article examines the legal challenges transgender parents face in being recognised as legal parents under English law. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows transgender people to legally change their gender for all purposes, with a critical exception: obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate does not alter one’s status as a child’s mother or father. Taking three recent cases as a jumping off point, this article demonstrates how legal parenthood for transgender parents and their partners may vary depending on whether they have legally changed their gender, their marital/civil partnership status, and whether assisted reproduction was used (and what kind). It also highlights those circumstances in which a transgender parent cannot be recognised as their child’s legal parent. The articles concludes that current parenthood laws for transgender parents are not fit for purpose and require legislative reform.