Week 5: Pregnant US man hails 'miracle'

A US man who is six months pregnant, 10 years after undergoing sex change surgery, says he considers his unborn child a "miracle".

Thomas Beatie, 34, said it was his right to have a child. The medical procedures he underwent a decade ago did not affect his reproductive system.

His wife says she inseminated him using sperm from an anonymous donor. Their doctor says it is a normal pregnancy.

Mr Beatie told chat show host Oprah Winfrey he had always wanted a child.

"It's not a male or female desire to have a child," he said. "It's a human desire. I have a very stable male identity."

'Daddy's little princess'

Mr Beatie, of Bend, Oregon, had breast surgery to remove glands and flatten his chest 10 years ago.

"I opted not to do anything with my reproductive organs because I wanted to have a child one day," a thinly bearded Mr Beatie told Oprah Winfrey.

"I didn't know how. It was just a dream."

He has been married for five years to wife Nancy, who also appeared on the show along with her two grown-up daughters from a previous marriage, Amber and Jen. They spoke of their admiration for their mother and Mr Beatie.

Mrs Beatie said the couple's roles would not change once the baby was born.

"He's going to be the father and I'm going to be the mother," she said.

They revealed Mr Beatie - a former Hawaiian beauty queen - had conceived by artificial insemination, carried out with a syringe by his wife in their home, with sperm purchased from a bank.

In their first TV interview, for The Oprah Winfrey Show and People magazine, the couple were shown at home in the room that will be the baby's nursery.

Viewers across the US on Thursday saw footage of Mr Beatie's ultrasound scan and heard a heartbeat.

He said: "I can't believe it. I can't believe she's inside me. We see her as our little miracle."

The baby would be "daddy's little princess", said Mr Beatie, who described himself as a tomboy growing up.

The couple say they had been refused medical assistance by eight different doctors, before finding one who was prepared to help with the pregnancy.

Mr Beatie's obstetrician, Dr Kimberly James, told Oprah Winfrey: "This baby is totally healthy. This is what I consider a normal pregnancy."


Review:

This 'man' has given birth to a baby girl last week. Count that baby girl lucky or unlucky. Imagine having 'two' mothers, just that one is with a flat chest and facial hair. What would the girl think when she grow up? Wouldn't she be subjected to being scorned by her friends? Think for that poor child. The media will be all over this child's birth and this may affect her mentally. She will grow up to see herself being in the headlines for the wrong thing.

Yet, we cannot do anything about it. Everyone has the right to choose what they want as long as they do not hurt others. Anyway, the parents' marriage was approved by the state and such pregnancy wasn't prohibited. So, technically, there is nothing wrong here. Well, people may argue that this is not morally right. However, it's just basic human desire to reproduce. Why should we care about it?

Nevertheless, the progress of Science and technology is indeed amazing, isn't it?

although i trust that everyone should have to right to choose, i am concern about the child. the question that strikes me is, will that little princess grow up to be discriminated by her friends? or will she grow up to become like her 'father'?

I think that this is perhaps not something to be passed down to future generation. i do not think that the girl should be affected in any way due to her parents and environment which she grew up. this is because parents are examples for children to learn from. if the child were to grow up in this environment, she may be picking up the parents' lifestyle and hence, leading her parents lifestyle in future. (the problem is i do not think this is a correct lifestyle because i do not agree with homosexuality.)

also, i am afraid that homosexuality has not been accepted by the general public. this means that there is high chances that the child may face discrimination by her schoolmates when she starts schooling. this is then being very unfair to the child as she does not get to choose her family. if discrimination were to happen, it might have an adverse effect on the child's psychology. if this happens, will she become a little princess at home but an ugly duckling who is discrimated in school?

When i first read the headline, the first thing that came across my mind is that ' Women will no longer be significant if man can give birth'. 'What will happen to human society and moral values if this technology is made effective and efficient'.

However, the man mentioned in the article that manage to give birth , is not a real 'man' so this technology may not have much impact on the society. But can you imagine if real men could give birth ? What will happen to the society ? I think maybe the population growth may speed up as, both women and men could 'help' in producing more children. However , it may not be the case as this type of technology ( causing man to able to give birth) will only be in favor to homosexuals. As most men certainly do not want to go through the pain when giving birth. Thus, if the technology mentioned above is available , it probably may cause social unrest as many may think that it is against the moral values , such as Confucius belief on "Woman's greatest duty is to produce a son."

Also,referring to both Aik kun and Hwee Ing's comment, both of them are very concern about the well-being of the children. And it is true that the child may be discriminate against as she do not have a 'normal' father . Even if she may not be discriminated against , she may also be confuse about the role of different gender as she grow up.


Additional stuff ::
Neo-Confucian Inspired Sayings

" A woman's duty is not to control or take charge."

"Woman's greatest duty is to produce a son."

"A woman ruler is like a hen crowing."

"A husband can marry twice, but his wife must never remarry."

"We should not be too familiar with the lower orders or with women."

"The woman with no talent is the one who has merit."

" It will be womens neither to do wrong nor to do good. Only about the spirits and the food will they have to think."

"Disorder is not sent down by Heaven, it is produced by women."

"Those who cannot be taught, cannot be instructed. These are women and eunuchs."

" Man is honored for strength; a woman is beautiful on account of her gentleness."

"There are three unfilial acts: the greatest of these is the failure to produce sons."

"Women are to be led and to follow others."

"Women's nature is passive."

"A woman should look on her husband as if he were Heaven itself, and never weary of thinking how she may yield to him."

Here's the picture

And some background info?
Raised in Hawaii, he spent the first two decades of his life as Tracy Lagondino, a Girl Scout, former model and finalist in a Miss Hawaii Teen USA pageant. Beatie told PEOPLE that he began to dress and live as a man in his 20s, in time officially changing his gender on his passport and driver's license.
Source: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20210491,00.html

The article is about the rights of transsexuals. From the perspective of a Singaporean, this is certainly not encouraged. In Singapore, the majority of the population is considerably conservative and has not accepted the idea of open homosexuality yet, not to mention transsexuals. The main problem here would be that undergoing such surgeries is unnatural and life threatening. After the change had taken place, it would not be an easy task to get accustomed to it. So, what if the patients regret having their sex changed? However, I am pretty sure they have their own reasons in wanting to do so. In the case of Thomas Beatie, he had wanted to live as a man. In my opinion, most of the people who have prejudices against transsexuals usually do not understand why they wanted to change their sex. Because of this, they regard them as aliens or psychos. I too, must admit that i am quite disgusted.

I just want to say that I support Thomas Beatie's decision 100%, regardless of whether or not other people personally agree with his decision. I think that Thomas Beatie should be able to identify as whatever he wants because it's his life and his body, and no one else has the right to tell him how to live his life. Do you want somebody telling you how to live your life? I know I don't, and I'm pretty sure that Thomas doesn't either.

Thomas Beatie says he is just like any other normal father.
But he is about as far as you could be from typical. He claims to have given birth to the child.
Although born a woman, Beatie had his breasts removed and lives outwardly as a man after changing his gender to male.
The 34-year-old says he retained his female sex organs because he intended to have children one day.
He conceived with sperm from a donor and was inseminated at home by his 45-year-old wife Nancy, using a do-it-yourself kit.
Despite opposition from family, friends and the medical profession he continued with the controversial pregnancy and says that on June 29 he delivered Susan Juliette.
Yesterday Beatie, from Bend, in Oregon, spoke for the first time about the 40-hour labour, describing it as the 'experience of a lifetime'.
He said: 'It was simply amazing and beautiful and is a moment I will cherish for the rest of my life.
'Everyone thought I was going to have a caesarean but I always knew I wanted a natural birth and I had one.
'As she was being born the midwife said she had this mass of dark hair like me.
'I could hear her words but I needed to see her for myself. And then she came out and my eyes just filled with tears. She was so beautiful and perfect in every way. I was overwhelmed with love and wonder and I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I still can't today.'He also claimed that his daughter is fed naturally by his wife who has begun to produce milk after being stimulated by the suckling baby.
He said: 'Most people assumed that our baby would not be breast-fed but we are proud to announce that she is.
'Nancy breast-feeds her every two to three hours. I do everything but breast-feed her.'
Beatie, who was born in Hawaii as Tracy Lagondino, had a partial sex change operation ten years ago and married soon after.
He told the News of the World: 'We see ourselves as a traditional family - husband, wife and child. Nancy and I have strong family values and will raise Susan with integrity, compassion and respect for all people.
'Like any proud dad I look forward to being a huge part of my daughter's life. I can't wait to watch her and Nancy bake cookies and cupcakes together.
A woman who had a sex change operation and lived as a man has given birth to a girl, it was claimed on 03th July 2008.
'It's a human need - I'm a person and I have the right to have a biological child,' he told viewers of the Oprah Winfrey Show.
'Love makes a family and that's all that matters,' he said.

Firstly, I’ll refer to one point I disagree with in this article. "It's not a male or female desire to have a child," he said. "It's a human desire. I have a very stable male identity.” I don't agree of a transgender man announcing himself to have a stable "male" identity, if he wants to get pregnant. I may be conservative but traditionally, the role of male was not to give birth, which allow along has been a female's identity. Hence, I would refer to Thomas Beatie as not having a "stable male" identity.

Certainly, science has advanced to such a stage that been male no longer restricts itself to just having a pair of X and Y chromosome. Transsexuals are making headlines from having beautiful ones off the streets of Thailand to this transsexual man in US. We often have curiosity towards these people; hence they receive so much publicity from the mass media. Due to this form of publicity, this child that will be born will experience a traumatic childhood with media chasing after him. So I feel that beatie is not considering the position of the child when he was intending to have this child. I hope all the best to the family in terms of well-being.

This article can be quoted as examples in that may ask about the role of transsexuals in modern society.