Freddy McConnell wanted to be registered as father or parent rather than mother. But a judge today ruled against him after analysing argument at a High Court trial in London

A transgender man who gave birth but does not want to be described as 'mother' on a birth certificate has lost a High Court fight.

Freddy McConnell, 32, who is originally from Deal, Kent, wants to be registered as father or parent.

A judge today ruled against him after analysing argument at a High Court trial in London.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division of the High Court, has heard how Mr McConnell is a single parent who was born a woman but now lives as a man following surgery.

Mr McConnell was biologically able to get pregnant and give birth but had legally become a man when the child was born.

A registrar told him that the law required people who give birth to be registered as mothers.

He took legal action against the General Register Office, which administers the registration of births and deaths in England and Wales.

'There is a material difference between a person's gender and their status as a parent,' said Sir Andrew, in a ruling.

'Being a "mother", whilst hitherto always associated with being female, is the status afforded to a person who undergoes the physical and biological process of carrying a pregnancy and giving birth.

'It is now medically and legally possible for an individual, whose gender is recognised in law as male, to become pregnant and give birth to their child.

'While that person's gender is "male", their parental status, which derives from their biological role in giving birth, is that of "mother".'

Freddy McConnell (pictured), a multimedia journalist who works for The Guardian, wants to be registered as father or parent

Mr McConnell (pictured in the documentary Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth) was fighting in the High Court to be recognised by the government as the child's father and not mother

Mr McConnell started his journey to fatherhood in 2016 and had to stop taking testosterone so that he could conceive. On his second attempt Freddy fell pregnant using a sperm donor

Mr McConnell was able to give birth naturally, filmed in the documentary Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth having a water birth (pictured in a birthing pool)

A lawyer who represented Mr McConnell, a multimedia journalist who works for The Guardian, said an appeal was being considered.

'As a firm that champions equality, we are of course disappointed at the judgment and it highlights how the law is slow to keep up to modern society,' Karen Holden, founder of A City Law Firm, said.

'Freddy is legally a man and his legal papers display the same. In the UK he has the right to change his gender on his own birth certificate so why not his child's? Surely if you are going to move with modern times, the law has to finish the journey it has started.

'Equality shouldn't have to come at a price, but this case has taken three years, hours of work and manpower, public attention and yet the courts still failed to help this family set out its actual family structure correctly in terms of its legal status.

'A birth certificate will stay with a child for life and it will be factually and legally inaccurate under current rules.

'Freddy is considering whether he wishes to appeal, and we have no instructions on that at present.

'We hope though others will pick up the chalice as well and look to bring UK law in line with other more progressive countries.'

Mr McConnell said he feels a special bond with his son after giving birth but faces a fight to get himself recognised as the child's father (pictured in the BBC Two documentary Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth)

If Freddy had been successful in court, the child would be the first in eyes of the law to not have a mother. He is pictured looking at an ultrasound his child

It wasn't until he reached university that Mr McConnell decided to begin his transition from woman to man but chose to keep his womb (he is pictured in the gym)

Mr McConnell started taking testosterone aged 25 and had breast tissue removed a year later, but never had a hysterectomy to remove his uterus because he had not ruled out wanting children.

Mr McConnell conceived through IVF treatment after using a sperm donor. He also stopped taking testosterone in a bid to become pregnant.

Another judge made an order at a preliminary hearing last year, preventing Mr McConnell and the child being named in media reports of the case.

But a number of national newspaper editors mounted a challenge to the order after Mr McConnell featured in a documentary film and newspaper article about his life and journey to parenthood.

They said journalists should, as a result of that 'self-generated publicity', also be allowed to name Mr McConnell in reports of the litigation.

Editors did not argue that the child should be named in media reports. Mr McConnell was against the name bar being lifted, but Sir Andrew ruled in favour of editors.

Timeline of Freddy McConnell's case Last September : Details emerge of a man going to the High Court in an attempt to be listed as 'father' or 'parent' on child's birth certificate

: Details emerge of a man going to the High Court in an attempt to be listed as 'father' or 'parent' on child's birth certificate February : Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division, holds a hearing into the case

: Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division, holds a hearing into the case April : A film called 'Seahorse' about the man premieres at the TriBeca Film Festival in New York

: A film called 'Seahorse' about the man premieres at the TriBeca Film Festival in New York May : Sir Andrew says it is 'striking' that the man did not mention the documentary from the initial court proceedings

: Sir Andrew says it is 'striking' that the man did not mention the documentary from the initial court proceedings July : Sir Andrew lifts the anonymity order, revealing the man's identity as Freddy McConnell

: Sir Andrew lifts the anonymity order, revealing the man's identity as Freddy McConnell September : Mr McConnell loses his fight to be described as 'father' on a birth certificate Advertisement

Lawyers independently representing the child were also opposed, and the judge said the child should remain anonymous.

The judge outlined his decision in a judgment published in July. He had analysed argument at a recent High Court hearing in London.

Mr McConnell is a single parent who was born a woman but now lives as a man after surgery.

Sir Andrew heard that Mr McConnell was biologically able to get pregnant and give birth but had legally become a man when the child was born.

Mr McConnell wants to be identified as the child's father or parent on a birth certificate, but a registrar told him that the law requires people who give birth to be registered as mothers.

He took legal action against the General Register Office, which administers the registration of births and deaths in England and Wales, after complaining of discrimination.

Lawyers say the child will be the first person born in England and Wales not to legally have a mother if the claim succeeds.

Mr McConnell was filmed over three years as part of a documentary.

The film 'Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth', shows Freddy giving up testosterone so that he is able to conceive and ends up living in gender limbo.

After a few months carrying his son, Mr McConnell bemoans: 'If all men got pregnant then pregnancy would be taken so more seriously and talked about.

'F***, it’s f***ing awful. If men had to go through this all the time you would never hear the end of it.'

He also explains that being filmed for the documentary was much more difficult than he anticipated.

'I think I totally underestimated the difficulty of being on camera and being filmed a lot. I remember thinking “this is really odd I’ll get used to it”, but I never got used to it.'

He said of his decision to undertake his journey: 'This is a film about me having a baby. But what I feel like I’m going through isn’t me having a baby or pregnancy, it’s a much more fundamental total loss of myself.'

After one failed attempt, Freddy falls pregnant on his second try using a sperm donor and shares the moment with his mum

He shows off his positive test result as he continues his journey to becoming a father in the documentary

Talking about experiencing gender dysphoria as a child, he told the Guardian: ‘I once heard it described as a cosmic toothache, which is quite apt. And I’d felt it since the age of three or four.

‘I talked about it very rarely, but quickly realised as a young child it wasn’t an OK thing to talk about. People don’t like it when little kids use terms like “sex change”, and they tell you to shut up.’

Mr McConnell's mother, Esme - who appears in the documentary and is hugely supportive - thought that he would ‘grow out of it, and I believed her’.

After school, he went to Edinburgh University, studying Arabic, and worked abroad teaching, but he found his 20s incredibly difficult because of the growing certainty he should have been born male.

By the age of 25, he was on the route to gender reassignment. He started taking testosterone, then had surgery to remove his breasts. He considered a hysterectomy, but did not go through with it.

He had always wanted to be a parent, and had considered becoming pregnant before transitioning. Then he decided that would be irresponsible. ‘I needed to figure out exactly who I was before I had a kid,’ he explained.

Freddy has said he will be open with his son as he grows up about everything, adding 'whatever is age-appropriate'

He was told that he could freeze his eggs, with a view to surrogacy further down the line, but ruled this out. Then, on hearing that trans men in the U.S. had given birth themselves, this seemed like a preferable option.

To get pregnant, Mr Mr McConnell had to stop taking testosterone in order to conceive. His body went into a gender limbo. He starts having periods again, which appals him (‘I don’t like the idea that I’ve got tampons in my bag,’ he says).

His facial hair gets whispier, and his hips broaden. There are tears, high emotion, clearly his hormones are playing havoc. ‘I feel like a f****** alien,’ he complains at one of his low points.

Against all the odds, Mr Mr McConnell falls pregnant.

‘There is a strong case to be made for it being the peak human experience, if it goes well,’ he has said since, one of the few men in the world to be able to say such a thing with authority.

The cameras are there as he gives birth but now he is ‘glad it was captured’, not least because one day his child, the one at the heart of this huge debate, will have questions about their birth.

‘I look forward to sharing everything,’ he has said. ‘I’m going to be totally open at every stage — whatever is age-appropriate.’