ST: Transgender man tells Oprah of 'miracle child' (April 5)

April 5, 2008
Transgender man tells Oprah of 'miracle child'
A TRANSGENDER man who is six months pregnant said in the Oprah Winfrey
Show that he always wanted to have a child and he considered his
pregnancy 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 on Thursday. 'I have a
very stable male identity,' he added, saying that pregnancy neither
defines him nor makes him feel feminine.

Mr 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 said.

His wife of five years, Nancy, said she inseminated him with a syringe
using sperm purchased from a bank.

She 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 recognised under law.

'I can't believe she's inside me,' Mr Beatie said as he was being
filmed watching an ultrasound image of his daughter. 'We see her as
our little miracle.'

In 1999, fellow American Matt Rice gave birth to son Blake. Mr Rice
and his partner, both transgender males, decided to become parents by
using sperm donors after side effects caused Mr Rice to stop taking
testosterone for a few years, the Daily Mirror reported.

REUTERS