Quest for gender change faces legal hurdle

[Shana A]

Quest for gender change faces legal hurdle

A column by Kevin Leininger
of The News-Sentinel

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100522/NEWS/5220342

One man. One woman. Marriage. Kids. Maybe even a white picket fence. Patrick Ren Ray wants it all: a stereotypical American family.

But if that hoped-for destination seems idyllic, the journey to get there has been filled with obstacles few people who have not walked in Ray's shoes will fully comprehend.

That's because, until Allen Circuit Judge Tom Felts' order after a brief hearing Thursday morning, Ray's legal name was Pauletta Rene Ray. But despite the new name, Ray remains legally female – at least until Felts rules on his petition for a change of gender, something not contemplated one way or the other under Indiana law. And without a positive decision, the 44-year-old Ray won't be able to marry his 25-year-old fiancée (I'll use male pronouns out of courtesy and to avoid confusion), who was impregnated with sperm donated by a friend and expects to give birth this fall.