An attorney who represents Thomas Beatie, a transgender man in Arizona who gave birth to three of his children after changing his sex from female to male, has been denied a divorce. The Arizona judge said that state laws do not recognize same-sex marriage and that he is not allowed to grant a same-sex divorce. Beatie has said he intends to appeal the ruling.
Beatie’s attorney, David Cantor, has issued a statement saying he believes the judge presiding over the case used the issue of Beatie’s gender and pregnancies against his client when making his decision. Based on the discrimination, Beatie will file an appeal later this week before the State Supreme Court.
Beatie’s marriage began nine years ago when he married his wife, Nancy, in Hawaii. At the time of the marriage Beatie had legal documents identifying him as a man and had taken some surgical steps to transition into a man.
Despite the legal document saying he was male, Maricopa County Family Court Judge Douglas Gerlach held that Beatie’s marriage could not be dissolved because state law does not permit the recognition of such marriages. Judge Gerlach continued by saying there was not enough proof to demonstrate that Beatie was legally a man when he married his wife. The judge pointed out that Beatie had stopped his hormone treatments at the time so that he could become pregnant. Gerlach said that according to Arizona law, “man” refers to someone who is incapable of giving birth.
The problem for Beatie is that he is now dating someone new and wants to move on with his life. Though Arizona does not see Beatie as married, and thus did not award Nancy any spousal support, Beatie is considered married under Hawaii law. The trick is, he cannot apply for divorce in Hawaii because neither he nor Nancy lives there. One or both would have to reestablish residency in the state to allow for the divorce.
Source: “’Pregnant Man’ Thomas Beatie Will Appeal Divorce Denial,” by Alyssa Newcomb, published at ABCNews.com.