The Toulouse Court of Appeal examines on Wednesday an unprecedented case, likely to change the legislation on parentage of transgender people, and lift a paradox: Claire (the first name has been changed), yet a biological parent, does not appear on the list. birth certificate of his daughter.
Read alsoHow to better welcome transgender students at school: the circular prepared by Blanquer
Since 2014, Claire, a 52-year-old transgender woman, has come up against justice and a legal vacuum. After being recognized as a woman in the civil registry in 2011 and before being operated on, Claire conceived a child with her wife, the third of the couple, a girl born in 2014. Since then, she has been asking for her registration as "
mother
”in the civil status registers. To date, only Claire's wife appears as a parent on the birth certificate of their daughter, who is now seven years old. Clélia Richard, his lawyer, says she is "
cautious, but optimistic
", while deploring, however, that the procedure has been going on for so long. "
It is much too long (...) If she is a woman in civil status and if she is the biological parent of the child, it is obvious, she must appear as mother on the birth certificate of the child. 'child
,
'
she told AFP.
"The legislator is not in tune with reality"
The general prosecutor's office of the Toulouse Court of Appeal holds a similar reasoning, and recommends in its written conclusions to "
transcribe the parentage link on the birth certificate as the child's
"
mother
". But it also recommends that the judgment of modification of civil status be mentioned on the birth certificate. Objection on this point from Me Richard, who sees it as a potentially “
discriminating
”
factor
. “
We will not give up on the history of recognition. The biological link is there. The legislator is not in tune with reality, and the magistrates come to compensate for the shortcomings of an inconsistent law
, ”she argues. If the court ruled in favor of Claire, "
it would be coherent and logical, adds the lawyer, it would be a first in France, and compared to European countries, we would find our rank of country of human rights
”.
Despite the legal steps taken by the couple before the birth of their daughter, Claire could only appear as a father on the birth certificate, then retorted the registrar, which she refused.
For her to be recognized as a mother, justice advised the couple, married since 1999, to go through an adoption procedure.
"
Unimaginable, she could not adopt a child she had conceived,
" insists the lawyer.
Another couple soon concerned
Since 2014, Claire goes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. At first instance in 2016, a court in Montpellier rejected the request. In 2018, the Montpellier Court of Appeal granted him the status of “
biological parent
”, an unprecedented judgment overturned by the Court of Cassation, according to which this category does not exist in French law, which has only two options: "
Father
" or "
mother
". Rarely, Claire's wife, and mother of their first two children, accompanied her transition. "
It's a beautiful love story, a very close couple
," says Me Richard.
The Association of Gay and Lesbian Parents (AGPL) intervened in the proceedings. His lawyer will plead Wednesday and support the request of Claire, who "
is denied the application of the law, since the law should recognize the status of mother as a biological parent and woman in civil status
", according to the AGPL. On Wednesday, the hearing before the five judges of the civil chamber of the Toulouse Court of Appeal will not be public. The date for deliberation will be set at the end of the hearing, which should last all morning.
Claire and her lawyer have planned to speak to the press at midday, in the company of another couple of women, who will find themselves in the same situation when their child is born in the coming weeks.
This second couple relies on a favorable decision from the Toulouse Court of Appeal in order to benefit from the case law.
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