Questions over sex change snag Ariz. divorce case - | News for Yuma, Imperial Valley, El Centro, AZ & CA

Questions over sex change snag Ariz. divorce case

Posted:

PHOENIX (AP) - An Arizona man who garnered national media attention for giving birth to three children after having a sex-change operation has hit a snag in his divorce proceedings.

A judge is questioning whether the state's same-sex marriage ban bars him from ending Thomas and Nancy Beatie's union - or even recognizing its validity. Thomas Beatie was born a woman in Hawaii and underwent a sex change but retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children.

Thomas and Nancy Beatie are eager to end their 9-year marriage, but their divorce plans stalled when Maricopa County Family Court Judge Douglas Gerlach said in late June that he was unable to find any legal authority defining a man as someone who can give birth.

Thomas Beatie, known as "The Pregnant Man," has appeared on television shows and magazine covers. He declined an interview request through 1 of his attorneys.

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