In a landmark development that has gotten tongues wagging, a Japanese court has strongly ruled that a transgender woman cannot legally be regarded as a parent of one of her own children.
According to reports, the woman, assigned male at birth, used sperm obtained before her transition to have two daughters with her female partner.
In the judgment, the court said one daughter — born before the woman underwent her legal and surgical transition — is legally hers, while the daughter born after her transition is not.
Recall that a family court ruled earlier this year that the woman’s partner was the legal mother of the two girls because she gave birth to them, but it did not recognize the trans woman as a parent of the two.
The lower court had ruled that “There is currently nothing in Japanese law to recognize her parental rights”.
In a swift move, the trans woman had appealed that decision, leading to this recent ruling by the Tokyo High Court.
It’s imperative to note that Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven — a coalition of leading industrial nations that also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the U.S. — not to recognize same-sex marriage.
