Transgender Woman wins Round in Family Court Case

Transgender Woman Finally Allowed To See Her Kids

Transgender Woman wins Round in Family Court Case
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Wins Court Case in England

In England, the Third Court of Appeal ruled in favor of a transgender woman, reverting her case to the High Court. Sir James Munby, Lady Justice Arden, and Lord Justice Singh gave their joint ruling in the case of a transgender woman, the father of five, being barred from seeing her children.

Transgender Woman Finally Allowed To See Her Kids[/tweetthis]

High Court Ruling

The complainant had not been allowed to see her children since 2015, when she separated from her wife. According to the case presented to High Court judge Mr. Justice Peter Jackson, the complainant’s wife cited fear that the children would be shunned by the couple’s church if there was contact between them and the transgender woman as her defense. The couple had been part of the North Manchester Charedi Jewish community before the separation.

Mr. Justice Peter Jackson, now Lord Justice Jackson, concurred with the argument, ruling in favor of the children’s mother. As a compromise, however, he stipulated that the children, aged 3 to 13 years, would be allowed to write their father four times a week.

“It was Discriminatory”

The father opposed the ruling, stating that there were some factors that the High Court did not take into account when making the decision. After hearing her reasons, the Court of Appeal granted the revisit of the case.

Sir James Munby listed three main reasons for granting the complainant’s request. For one, the court felt that the ‘judge gave up too easily.’ According to the appeals court, the High Court should have been ‘reasonable’ by today’s standards, at least accepting the reality of the LGBT community. Secondly, Sir Munby and his fellow justices felt that the ruling was discriminatory and in violation of human rights. Lastly, the three judges did not accept the fact that the father had not been allowed to test direct contact before resorting to indirect contact.

As this case heads into the hands of Mr. Justice Hayden of the High Court, church leaders must start to consider its implications on religious beliefs vis-à-vis modern life.

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