Transgender Couple Become First to Give Birth in France

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Chris Tomlinson

French parents who are both transgender have become the first such couple to give birth to a child in the country, having previously struggled to achieve proper legal recognition.

Victoire, a man who has become a transwoman, and partner Mattéo, a woman who has become a transman, saw the birth of their first child last month at the Jacques-Cœur Hospital in Bourges — believed to be the first birth of its kind in France.

Mattéo, despite giving birth in the maternity ward of the hospital, is listed as a man, and the birth certificate does not list the couple as mother and father but by their names instead, Le Berry Republicain reports.

“There was no inappropriate gesture, no inappropriate word. Only kind and sincere questions,” Victoire said, while the hospital staff stated that, despite the circumstances, normal procedures were followed.

“I went to the town hall of Bourges the day after the birth,” Victoire said of the birth certificate process.

“The civil registry employees were very understanding! On the birth certificate, it simply says that our daughter was born to Mattéo and me. An annotation about the sex change is on his full birth certificate, but I have asked that it be blocked and that it never be seen again. I just keep a copy to show my daughter.”

Both Victoire and Matteo halted their hormone therapies and put off gender transition surgeries in order to have their child but are now looking to resume treatments, with Victoire also looking to schedule gender reassignment surgery.

During their efforts to have a child, the couple noted that they previously attempted to have in vitro fertilization (IVF) but were refused by doctors — who claimed that they could not get a “man” pregnant.

Last year, the question of allowing transgender men to access IVF treatments was brought to the Constitutional Council, the top constitutional authority in France, by the activist group Information and Action Group on Reproductive and Sexual Issues (GIAPS).

The court ruled that transgender men were not eligible for IVF procedures despite the fact they have the physical ability to get pregnant.

Other countries, however, such as Spain, have granted such rights to transgender men following demands by LGBTQ activist groups.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

 

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