Divorce dilemma for a man who gave birth
Source: Agencies |
January 2, 2013, Wednesday
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AN Arizona man who gave birth to three children after having a sex-change operation has hit a snag in his divorce proceedings that could prevent him from having his marriage legally dissolved.
A judge is questioning whether the US state's same-sex marriage ban bars him from ending Thomas and Nancy Beatie's union - or even recognizing its validity. Thomas was born a woman and underwent a sex change but retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children.
Thomas and Nancy are eager to end their nine-year marriage, but their divorce plans stalled when Maricopa County judge Douglas Gerlach said in late June that he was unable to find any legal authority defining a man as someone who can give birth.
"Are we dealing with a same-sex marriage?" Gerlach asked. He noted Arizona banned such marriages and refused to accept those performed in other states.
Thomas, known as "The Pregnant Man," was born Tracy Lehuanani Lagondino in Oahu, Hawaii. He began testosterone treatments in 1997 and underwent double mastectomy and chest reconstruction surgery in 2002.
He changed his Hawaii driver's license to say he was a man and had a Hawaiian court approve his name change to Thomas.
Thomas married his partner Nancy in early 2003 in Honolulu and became pregnant because Nancy was unable to have children.
He conceived with donated sperm and gave birth to children who are now four, three and two years old. The couple eventually moved to Arizona.
Beatie has garnered a range of media attention, making the rounds on talk shows such as Larry King and Oprah Winfrey and winning a spot on Barbara Walters' list of "10 Most Fascinating People" in 2008, alongside US President Barack Obama, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh and swimmer Michael Phelps. He also published a book, "Labor Of Love: The Story Of One Man's Extraordinary Pregnancy," whose cover displayed an image of a shirtless Thomas sporting facial hair and holding a hand over his bare pregnant belly.
The Beatie divorce case turns on the question of whether a judge has jurisdiction to grant a divorce in a marriage involving a transgender person. A January 31 trial is scheduled, and the judge is expected to rule in early February.
"If you took away the transgender part of it, it's a garden-variety divorce case," said David Higgins, Nancy's attorney.
A judge is questioning whether the US state's same-sex marriage ban bars him from ending Thomas and Nancy Beatie's union - or even recognizing its validity. Thomas was born a woman and underwent a sex change but retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children.
Thomas and Nancy are eager to end their nine-year marriage, but their divorce plans stalled when Maricopa County judge Douglas Gerlach said in late June that he was unable to find any legal authority defining a man as someone who can give birth.
"Are we dealing with a same-sex marriage?" Gerlach asked. He noted Arizona banned such marriages and refused to accept those performed in other states.
Thomas, known as "The Pregnant Man," was born Tracy Lehuanani Lagondino in Oahu, Hawaii. He began testosterone treatments in 1997 and underwent double mastectomy and chest reconstruction surgery in 2002.
He changed his Hawaii driver's license to say he was a man and had a Hawaiian court approve his name change to Thomas.
Thomas married his partner Nancy in early 2003 in Honolulu and became pregnant because Nancy was unable to have children.
He conceived with donated sperm and gave birth to children who are now four, three and two years old. The couple eventually moved to Arizona.
Beatie has garnered a range of media attention, making the rounds on talk shows such as Larry King and Oprah Winfrey and winning a spot on Barbara Walters' list of "10 Most Fascinating People" in 2008, alongside US President Barack Obama, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh and swimmer Michael Phelps. He also published a book, "Labor Of Love: The Story Of One Man's Extraordinary Pregnancy," whose cover displayed an image of a shirtless Thomas sporting facial hair and holding a hand over his bare pregnant belly.
The Beatie divorce case turns on the question of whether a judge has jurisdiction to grant a divorce in a marriage involving a transgender person. A January 31 trial is scheduled, and the judge is expected to rule in early February.
"If you took away the transgender part of it, it's a garden-variety divorce case," said David Higgins, Nancy's attorney.
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