Posted on 03/26/2008 6:09:19 AM PDT by crazyhorse691
A transgender man in Bend claims he is five months pregnant -- in a case that would stretch the meaning of the 21st-century family and the limits of personal pronouns.
But what sounds on the Internet like science fiction or tabloid hype may be more a matter of semantics, hormones and personal choice.
The parent-to-be was born female but identifies as a man, he writes in his first-person account posted this week by The Advocate, a national gay publication. He legally changed his name to Thomas Beatie and married a woman named Nancy. Beatie declined to answer questions from The Oregonian, citing an exclusive contract with another media outlet.
About 10 years ago, Beatie underwent breast-removal surgery and started male hormones, he writes, but kept the uterus and female genitals. After moving from Hawaii to Bend, the couple decided two years ago to have a child.
Nancy couldn't carry the child because she had had a hysterectomy. So Beatie stopped testosterone injections, and menstrual periods returned within four months . He says he conceived through artificial insemination at home with sperm bought from a sperm bank and that he didn't take fertility drugs.
Doctors say the case, while exceptional, is believable.
"Biologically, that all sounds plausible," says Dr. Mark Nichols, medical director of Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University.
"The definition of family has changed a lot," Nichols says. "There's not a set definition anymore."
Beatie's daughter is due around July 3, he writes in the "First Person" feature in the April 8 edition of The Advocate (www.advocate.com). It was released online earlier this week and picked up on national television. A phone call to The Advocate asking how they verified details in his very personal account wasn't returned.
"To Nancy, I am her husband carrying our child," he writes. "I will be my daughter's father, and Nancy will be her mother. We will be a family."
Got that? Family dynamics circa 2008 can get complicated.
Many transgender men opt not to have radical reconstructive surgery -- to convert the clitoris to a penis -- because it can cost tens of thousands of dollars and offers imperfect results, Nichols says. Instead, they choose hormonal treatment or simply declare themselves men and ask to be referred to by a different pronoun.
"I don't doubt that there are other cases" of transgender men having babies, says Dr. Paula Amato, a reproductive endocrinologist at OHSU.
The most troubling aspect of the case, she says, is Beatie's allegation that some doctors refused to treat him.
"Our situation sparks legal, political and social unknowns," Beatie writes. "We have only begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by our situation" -- including friends and family members.
Beatie runs a custom screen-printing business called Define Normal in Bend that specializes in embroidered T-shirts. A closed sign hung in the window of the business on Tuesday.
And near the Beaties' tidy two-story Craftsman-style home, neighbors Timothy and Janet Boland were surprised by the news that Thomas Beatie was pregnant. The retired couple said they had gotten to know the Beaties over the last year and a half through neighborhood parties.
"They've always been very friendly," said Timothy Boland.
"We like them," said Janet Boland.
Beatie writes that most people he meets don't know he is pregnant. "But our situation ultimately will ask everyone to embrace the gamut of human possibility and to define for themselves what is normal."
The rarity and bizarre details of a case like this can obscure what's at stake, says OHSU's Nichols.
"You hope this kid will grow up with two adults who care very much for her, and that's great," he says. "It's a decision best left to the individuals in privacy.
"My inclination would be to wish them good luck, hope it all goes well and leave well enough alone."
Matthew Preusch of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.
Don Colburn: 503-294-5124; doncolburn@news.oregonian.com
“The definition of family has changed a lot,” Nichols says. “There’s not a set definition anymore.”
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Wrongo.....no matter how many times you repeat this....it won’t make it true.
Of course, in Oregon the CPS agents will probably throw a baby shower. Let's check back in 15 years as the little tyke runs away seeking a normal life.
So, will SHE stop taking testosterone while pregnant or screw up her child before it’s born too so she can pretend to be male? I didn’t want to read the whole article because, well EWW..
The other article said she stopped using testosterone several months before conceiving.
“Here, I’ve got an idea. Suppose you agree that he can’t actually have babies, not having a womb, which is nobody’s fault, not even the Romans’, but that he can have the right to have babies.”
Ah ok.
I feel so sorry for that baby. It will never know it’s father, the mother will pretend to be it’s father and the woman she’s shacking up with will pretend to be the mother. How can anyone be so SELFISH to do this to a child?
Lots of women deprive their children of fathers, without this woman's excuse of being barking mad.
I was born a man, but identify as a fire engine, and if you deny me my right to be a fire engine, you are worse than Hitlet.
Here is the whole point of this.
The family unit must be destroyed in order for the socialist hive (gov't) to take its place of primary loyalty.
That could work if you’re arrested for peeing on a fire in public.
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