Thomas Beatie — who rose to fame as the first legal man to become pregnant — is officially divorced after a tumultuous years-long court battle. Beatie had filed for divorce from his wife, Nancy, in 2012. But in 2013, lower court Judge Douglas Gerlach refused to grant the divorce, ruling that Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriages invalidated the union.“Sadly, I feel that [Gerlach] used personal bias instead of supporting the law,” Beatie tells New Times. “He was also unwilling to recognize my legal sex change to male due to my pregnancies.”Last year, the lower court’s ruling was overturned by the Arizona Court of Appeals when the court declared that the 2003 marriage was not a same-sex union at the time. It was a critical victory, before the United States’ legalization of same-sex marriage, which allowed Beatie to retain his male and transgender identities.“It was an important step for transgender reproductive rights,” he says. “It really is more than being legally respected as a man; it is validating my identity as my children’s father.” If the ruling had come after same-sex marriage was legalized, it’s possible the case would have gone uncontested as both heterosexual and same-sex marriages are now valid.
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