Illinois has revised its method of identifying trans parents following the recent experience of a couple misgendered on their child's birth certificate.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Myles and Precious Brady Davis were disturbed when they learned how the state would identify them.
Myles, a transgender man who carried the baby, was listed as the mother on his baby’s birth certificate. Precious, who is also transgender, was listed as the father.
“It was so crazy,” Myles told the Chicago Tribune. “I never even thought the birth certificate would have to misgender us in that way.”
With advocates rallying on behalf of the parents, the state made changes and correctly identified the couple when they welcomed their baby in December. Myles is now listed as the father and Precious as the mother.
Illinois Department of Public Health spokesperson Melaney Arnold said this was the first time the state had been informed of a transgender live birth, and officials agreed that the couple shouldn't be misgendered.
“I feel so relieved,” Myles told the Tribune. “I’d gone through two years of (in vitro fertilization) and nine months of a very difficult pregnancy just to be misgendered at the end. It was really breaking my heart.”
According to a study by the Trans Pregnancy Project, there is no firm data to show how many trans and non-binary people become pregnant and give birth, but there is an increasing number of trans people who are choosing to start their own families.
The study identifies Australia as the only country which collects statistics on male birth parents, with 205 men having given birth in the country between 2013 and 2018.
In the United Kingdom, a transgender man faced difficulties in September when a court ruled that he doesn't have the right to be registered as a "father" on his child's birth certificate.
A study published by Sage Journals states that transgender men need a positive perinatal experience from the moment they "first present for care" and that they depend "on comprehensive affirmation of gender diversity."
Myles and Precious faced complications when they decided to conceive. The couple had tried IVF and had to go off of hormones that reinforced their gender identities. After Precious was off hormones for long enough, her body was able to produce sperm that was then combined with an egg from Myles.
“It was daunting as a trans couple navigating the world of fertility and we relate to those who struggle to conceive,” the parents said in a statement.
The couple met five years ago while Precious was working as the LGBTQ youth outreach coordinator at the Center on Halsted.
“I just saw my future flash before my eyes,” Myles said, describing the experience of meeting his wife. “I saw her in the park with kids. I saw the life we live now. I just saw my happiness in her.”
While Precious now works as a diversity advocate, public speaker and central region communications manager at the Sierra Club, Myles is a civil rights activist and director of communications at Equality Illinois.
