Reuters News Agency
CHICAGO–A transgendered man who is six months pregnant said in an interview aired by Oprah Winfrey yesterday he always wanted to have a child and considers it a miracle.
"It's not a male or female desire to have a child. It's a human desire," a thinly bearded Thomas Beatie said. "I have a very stable male identity," he added, saying that pregnancy neither defines him nor makes him feel feminine.
Beatie, 34, who lives in Oregon, was born a woman but decided to become a man 10 years ago. He began taking testosterone treatments and had breast surgery to remove glands and flatten his chest.
"I opted not to do anything with my reproductive organs because I wanted to have a child one day," he told the talk show host.
Beatie's wife Nancy said she inseminated him with a syringe using sperm purchased from a bank.
Now, he said, his size 32 jeans are a bit tight and his shirts are stretched.
Nancy, to whom he has been married for five years and who has two grown daughters by a previous marriage, also appeared on the show, saying the couple's roles will not change once the baby is born.
"He's going to be the father and I'm going to be the mother," she said. Their marriage is legal and he is recognized under state law as a man.
The couple was shown on video provided by People magazine, which collaborated with Winfrey on the show.
"I can't believe it. I can't believe she's inside me," Beatie said while having an ultrasound that was filmed. "We see her as our little miracle."
Beatie stopped taking testosterone two years ago and his levels of the hormone are normal, said his obstetrician, Dr. Kimberly James.
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