Ethan is a friend of mine who lives in Texas. He and his wife, who is in the military, married young. This year, they had a child together - Arthur. As of writing this, Arthur is an amazing, perfectly chunky 3 month old. Ethan and his wife are both trans, pre-transition, so Ethan is the biological birthgiver. When Ethan got pregnant, his wife began escalating to physical abuse.

This has culminated into recent threats to Arthur's life (one of such pictured in the cover photo), choking Ethan, leaving bruises, and so much more. Ethan has asked to keep his photographic evidence of bruises and his black eye private. Ethan finally gave his sister permission to provide the evidence to the wife's commanding officer, who took action immediately. Ethan is currently staying with this commanding officer with Arthur as the investigation and hearings proceed.

Ethan is an incredibly kind, thoughtful, and compassionate individual. He's also a spectacular parent. He has, time and time again, sacrificed his own health and well-being for Arthur's safety and comfort. Ethan also has autism, and is struggling to handle things on his own. Ethan cannot drive and has no work experience - which was a deliberate move on his wife's part to keep him dependent. With this in mind, his sisters are working to be there for him in person, to advocate for him and help him when he becomes nonverbal. The process of separation, convicting the wife of DV, and custody arrangements will take several months, but the sisters are willing to be there as much as Ethan needs.

As times continue to be difficult for all of us, though, transportation is an issue. The funds from this will go towards transporting the two sisters to Ethan, and also the travel for Ethan and Arthur to leave the state once the legal matters are settled - in addition to aiding Ethan with the counseling he needs after suffering extensive abuse. As this is taking place within the military, legal costs are a minimal concern, but Ethan is wholly dependent on support and has no income of his own. The current plan is for Ethan to recuperate in Massachusetts with his older sister, (with Arthur, of course!) and then consider his permanent living situation. Additionally, funds may be used for Arthur's care, for things such as diapers and formula.

8/19 update:

Today, Ethan met with the commanding officer of his wife's NCO. The protective order has officially been extended to baby Arthur, making them both "officially" safe, but this commanding officer wants Ethan and Arthur to move out of the NCO's house. The NCO has been amazingly helpful, taking care of all of them, and even begged to let them stay, but the superior officer wants Ethan to move out... and back into the house he shared with his wife on base. The wife is out, but has left the house in unsafe conditions - holes punched into the walls, cat urine everywhere, etc. And, without the NCO there to protect Ethan and Arthur, there's nothing stopping the wife from showing up to hurt them anyway.

With all this in mind, we're trying to fast track some of the travel arrangements. Ethan cannot leave the state yet, but having his support system there will make an enormous difference. If Ethan has to leave the NCO's house, then we may have to consider living arrangements. Any size donation is significantly appreciated, as is sharing this page. Thank you for reading this far.

8/22 update:

Happy news today! Ethan has been cleared by CPS and by the military's Family Advocacy Program to leave Texas with baby Arthur. He is now permitted to handle the rest of this case out of state, with family. Travel is mostly covered by this gofundme, and by a few private donations as well, so any other donations will go towards Ethan and Arthur's health and care.