Thomas Beatie
Fasten your seatbelts. An Oregon man is pregnant according to The Advocate. They have said “we have verified the pregnancy with Mr. Beatie’s
gynecologist”. The man Thomas Beatie (pictured above) is expecting a baby girl around
July 3, 2008 and the catch is he used to be a woman but now is a
transgender male.
Legally, he has changed his sex to male. He married Nancy Beatie legally but because she cannot carry a baby,
they decided Mr. Beatie would have the baby because when he changed sex
the vagina was kept (the breasts were surgically removed).
Is your head hurting? Read this pregnant man’s story (my head hurts just typing ‘pregnant man’) after the jump.
I was gob-smacked by the idea at first but you know, reading what he says, it’s quite touching. I always think that people who try really really hard and have to battle against stigma and science to have children self-select as good parents. What makes them any less qualified to have a child than someone who gets knocked up by accident?
And at the end of the day, this baby girl will have two parents. Does it really matter which one she was cooked in?
Thomas Beatie: “To our neighbors,
my wife, Nancy, and I don’t appear in the least
unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we
live, we are viewed just as we are — a happy couple
deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first
home, and start a family was nothing out of the
ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our
child.I am transgender,
legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike
those in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil
unions, Nancy and I are afforded the more than 1,100
federal rights of marriage. Sterilization is not a
requirement for sex reassignment, so I decided to have
chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept my
reproductive rights. Wanting to have a biological child is
neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire.Ten years ago,
when Nancy and I became a couple, the idea of us having a
child was more dream than plan. I always wanted to have
children. However, due to severe endometriosis 20
years ago, Nancy had to undergo a hysterectomy and is
unable to carry a child. But after the success of our
custom screen-printing business and a move from Hawaii to
the Pacific Northwest two years ago, the timing
finally seemed right. I stopped taking my bimonthly
testosterone injections. It had been roughly eight
years since I had my last menstrual cycle, so this
wasn’t a decision that I took lightly. My body
regulated itself after about four months, and I
didn’t have to take any exogenous estrogen,
progesterone, or fertility drugs to aid my pregnancy.Our situation
sparks legal, political, and social unknowns. We have only
begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by
our situation. Doctors have discriminated against us,
turning us away due to their religious beliefs. Health
care professionals have refused to call me by a male
pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife. Receptionists have
laughed at us. Friends and family have been
unsupportive; most of Nancy’s family
doesn’t even know I’m transgender.This whole
process, from trying to get pregnant to being pregnant, has
been a challenge for us. The first doctor we approached was
a reproductive endocrinologist. He was shocked by our
situation and told me to shave my facial hair. After a
$300 consultation, he reluctantly performed my initial
checkups. He then required us to see the clinic’s
psychologist to see if we were fit to bring a child into
this world and consulted with the ethics board of his
hospital. A few months and a couple thousand dollars
later, he told us that he would no longer treat us,
saying he and his staff felt uncomfortable working with
“someone like me.”In total, nine
different doctors have been involved. This is why it took
over one year to get access to a cryogenic sperm bank to
purchase anonymous donor vials, and why Nancy and I
eventually resorted to home insemination.”
There’s more of the interview on The Advocate’s site.
[source: The Advocate]
What It Means To Give Birth On Country
The Delivery Room
Top Comments
I was jsut wondering... will he breastfeed? Cause from the pic it doesn't look like he is equipped... but maybe?
I think the most disturbing thing about this, is the fact that we are not used to seeing men pregnant (even if they are not really men). The only other time that I've seen a pregnant man is in that Arnie movie...
As humans we are very visual creatures and tend to baulk at the unusual... but if you take a second to consider the concept I think that it is on the same wavelength as gay marriage and gay parents. There is nothing morally wrong about it. They are just two parents trying to find their way.
It's just very disturbing to look at... especially with that weirdo pose he's got going on. He's definately still in touch with his feminine side.