By Michael Kiefer | The Arizona Republic
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has denied a divorce to “Pregnant Man” Thomas Beatie on grounds that the transgender tabloid celebrity did not prove that his Hawaiian marriage was not a same-sex marriage.
Beatie, 39, touted himself on TV talk shows as “The Pregnant Man” in 2008 with his first pregnancy. He subsequently had two more children with his wife Nancy, whom he married in 2003.
The couple filed for divorce in March 2012.
In December, Beatie told The Arizona Republic, “I’m clearly a man: socially, legally, psychologically, physically — the whole ball of wax.”
Judge Douglas Gerlach was not so certain. In a ruling last June, he noted that the “marriage was between a female … and a person capable of giving birth, who later did so.”
Statement by Kaine Fisher, director RLG Family Law Dept.: “I admire Judge Gerlach for his technical approach and his consistent strict application of the law. This has been my experience when I have appeared before him. He has a passion for the law and he does not allow the peculiarity of a particular case to persuade his judgment. You know what you are going to get when you go before him. His expectations are high for lawyers, but you can count on him to be thorough and fair. Putting any personal thoughts on same sex marriage aside, Judge Gerlach’s ruling was technically sound.
