Transgender Male, Thomas Beatie, is 22 Weeks Pregnant and Due to Give Birth July 3

According to an ABC news article, as reported in The Advocate, a transgender man is 22 weeks pregnant. Thomas Beatie of Bend, Oregon is carrying a child, a girl, that he plans to raise with his wife, Nancy, in the traditional roles of mother and father. Beatie's wife, Nancy, is unable to bear children due to a hysterectomy performed 20 years ago. The couple longed for children and that left bearing children up to Thomas.

How could this happen? Beatie was born a woman and retained the female reproductive organs necessary to achieve pregnancy. On the outside, Beatie looks like a man because he has only had chest reconstruction surgery and taken hormones, but has had none of the surgery required to make the change from female to male final. He is legally recognized as a male in the State of Oregon and is legally married to wife, Nancy.

This story lends new meaning to the phrase "Who's your Daddy?" because in this instance, the daddy is the mommy.

While this news is making world-wide headlines, this isn't Beatie's first pregnancy, however. According to an article that appeared on Medindia.net, Beatie was able to achieve a triplet pregnancy previously, via artificial insemination, but there were complications. The triplet pregnancy was ectopic and required surgical intervention to save his life. When all was said and done, Beatie lost his right fallopian tube, as well as the three fetuses.

Some are calling this a hoax, but according to The Advocate, Mr. Beatie provided the name of his physician and The Advocate confirmed his pregnancy prior to going to press. Wikipedia lists another "transman", Matt Rice, who gave birth to a son, Blake, in 1999. While male pregnancy can happen under rare circumstances, it is possible in a transgender situation. While some of his neighbors are nay saying, it is well established that many women do not show until they are 4-5 months along.

Sources:

http://www.medindia.net/news/Transgendered-Males-Pregnancy-Claim-Stuns-Medical-Professionals-34676-1.htm

http://www.medindia.net/news/Transgendered-Males-Pregnancy-Claim-Stuns-Medical-Professionals-34676-1.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4526582&page=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_pregnancy

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2001_August_14/ai_76896425