THIS IS NO BELLY GAFFE (PREGNANT POP AIMS TO DELIVER)

NY Post ^ | March 29, 2008 | JENNIFER FERMINO

[presidio9]

A pregnant Oregon man who sports a beard with his baby bump insists he is "perfectly capable" of giving birth despite years of hormone treatments to make him a male.

"I'm a person and I have the right to have my own biological child," Thomas Beatie, 34, told Oprah Winfrey for a show airing next Thursday.

Beatie made worldwide headlines after announcing his extraordinary pregnancy in The Advocate magazine - and posing topless to show off his bulging belly, pancake bosom and mounds of armpit hair.

"Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor a female desire, but a human desire," he wrote in the April 8 issue of the magazine, geared toward gays, lesbians and transgender people.

Beatie legally became a man after undergoing a sex-change operation, but he kept his female reproductive organs.

In order to conceive, he said, he stopped taking his twice-weekly testosterone injections and started getting his period after an eight-year hiatus.

He used a sperm donor to get pregnant and did not require fertility treatments.

The macho mama, who is due this summer, said he decided to carry the baby because his wife, Nancy Richards, couldn't conceive.

"Who hires a surrogate if they are perfectly capable of carrying their own child?" he said in an interview for next week's People magazine, portions of which were released yesterday.

Beatie acknowledges he and his wife are in uncharted territory and that much of the reaction has been negative.

"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," he wrote.

When he suffered an ectopic pregnancy in his initial attempt at conception, his brother told him it was probably

[Bubba_Leroy]

It is not a “he”. It is a she with serious psychological problems.

[boothead]

It’s not a human. It’s gonna be a baby elephant. I see it’s trunk already hanging out.

[headstamp 2]

“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,” he wrote. “

Geez, I wonder why. These people are insane.

[OpusatFR]

If she continues to take testosterone it will damage the child.

I can’t imagine she would and that the OB would allow it, but she’s obviously nuts.

[jack_napier]

"Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor a female desire, but a human desire,"

This is news to me! I've never met another man who had the desire to be the carrier of the baby. I'd rather stick to getting her the ice cream at 3 in the morning, thanks.
By the way, this concept was MUCH funnier when it was the Governator in a movie.

[darkangel82]

She didn’t become a male, she’s just deluded enough to think she is.

[Paved Paradise]

I don’t know where you grew up, but I consider it a very vulgar term - it is not a “bump,” it’s a baby. Sorry to disagree.

[Paved Paradise]

I agree.

[pillut48]

I grew up in Fort Worth, and actually first heard the phrase in my baptist church, much to the delight of the older ladies making a fuss over a mama-to-be. I’m 46 now and in all my years, NEVER come across someone who found the phrase ‘vulgar’, and I’ve lived all over the north Texas area and northern California area—your mileage may vary, though, depending on your region and religion, I guess! [shrugs]

Not sure if you’ve been around a pregnant person before, but when the belly starts stretching (as mine is doing at this very moment) a bump (generally called the baby bump, not just ‘bump’ in most cases, although I knew a woman who called hers “The Bump” before she knew the gender affectionately) indeed does form—a living bump with a beautiful heartbeat (in my case, 2 beautiful heartbeats :*) that is now moving on it’s own when one of the babies kicks/punches inside. :*) One of the most wonderful, glorious feelings I’ve ever felt in my entire life!! :*) Not a single thing ‘vulgar’ about it, IMO.

[Paved Paradise]

Regardless of whether you have heard anyone use the term vulgar, one of the definitions of vulgar is, “lacking refinement;” another is “of ordinary people’s language” and, indeed, the term “baby bump” is vulgar by that definition. I have been around plenty of pregnant women and myself was one some 32 years ago and, no, that term was never used. I don’t know about “Texas,” or North Carolina, but, trust me, religion has nothing to do with it.

I have noticed that the past several years have shown an increasing decline in manners, specifically in regards to the use of language. There is much in our language that, while not directly profane, is very vulgar. I admit I have occasionally uttered words that years ago would have been very improper for a lady to say (e.g. the word(s) crap or crappy as in “I had a crappy day”) and remember being chastised for saying that word.

I try to stay classy and have my own struggles, so I definitely won’t be adding “baby bump” to my vocabulary.

[Paved Paradise]

Oh, I almost forgot - congrats on your two little ones - blessings to you all.

[pillut48]

YMMV.

I feel VERY classy as I watch my baby bumps growing bigger and bigger each day :*) and my husband and my daughter are quite proud of the babies too (after all we went through for them to be here) so I guess we will have to agree to disagree. :-)

[pillut48]

Thank you! God has definitely blessed us most abundantly! :*)

[fwdude]

This is just a common outworking of the type of screwed up liberal philosophy that typifies leftist states such as Oregon. Ironically, early on, Oregon was a state that amended it's constitution to establish what true marriage is.

Everyone, deep down, really knows that this is just a pregnant woman impersonating a man. I think that states which are considering a marriage amendment ought to, at the same time, establish by amendment the obvious fact of what "male" and "female" are.