A court has ruled against the appeal of a transgender man who gave birth and wanted to be registered as his child's father on the birth certificate.
Freddy McConnell, a 34-year-old Guardian journalist, became pregnant after suspending his hormone treatment.
He sued the General Register Office (GRO) when he was told that he had to be registered as the mother because he had given birth to the child.
Mr McConnell claimed discrimination and argued that not being able to register as the father breached his human rights.
In a hearing last September, a High Court judge upheld the GRO's decision on the grounds that 'mother' is the correct legal term for someone who has given birth.
At the appeal hearing on Wednesday, Lord chief justice, Lord Burnett, in his verdict suggested that the right of a child to know the biological reality of their parent trumps the parent's right to have their legal gender recognised on the birth certificate, the Guardian reports.
He argued that there was justification for some infringement on McConnell's rights to ensure "a clear and coherent scheme of registration of births".
In his ruling, Lord Burnett said that "although for most purposes a person must be regarded in law as being of their acquired gender after the certificate has been issued, where an exception applies, they are still to be treated as having their gender at birth".
After losing his appeal this week, McConnell said he plans to take his case to the Supreme Court.
