Photo Gallery The Challenges Posed by Trans Parenthood
A January 2011 decision by the German high court, under which transsexuals are no longer required to undergo a risky operation before they are legally permitted to change genders, has caused the number of trans parents to spike. This makes changing genders easier today than it was in the past. It also means that it is highly likely that there are now hundreds of women in Germany capable of fathering a child and men who can become pregnant. A case in point is US citizen Thomas Beatie, who made worldwide headlines in 2008 as a man who became pregnant.
Berlin's civil registry ventured into a legal no man's land by registering a trans man who gave birth to a child in April as the child's father. The child, conceived with donated sperm, officially has no mother, which is problematic under German law. The case constitutes a "legal loophole," said Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (pictured), who has been trying for months to close that loophole with a new Transsexuals Act. But the Interior Ministry, headed by conservative Hans-Peter Friedrich and responsible for civil registration matters, is blocking the effort.
