14 DAY TRIAL // Remember the movie "Junior" featuring the current governor of California in the main role? It reached a subject of ethic and religious debate. Well, in an era when many SF movie devices turn into reality, you should not wonder about this next piece of news: there is a pregnant man. Legally, he is classified as male, but in fact, this five-month pregnant Oregon man is a transsexual.
Thomas Beatie said he kept his female reproductive organs after his sex-change operation (when he removed his breasts). Thomas has legally been married to a woman for 10 years and said he underwent in-vitro fertilization using the sperm of a donor; the future baby will be a girl.
Thomas took the decision to get pregnant when he found out that Nancy could not remain pregnant due to a hysterectomy. He interrupted the hormonal treatment and, in 8 months, his menstruation returned, his body being ready for IVF. In 4 months, his organism regulated the female hormone levels (estrogens and progesterone) without the need of fertility drugs. After that, it has taken him a year to find a doctor willing to help. Thomas got pregnant first with triplets, but the pregnancy was difficult, putting at risk his life, and he had to interrupt it. The second was a lucky one, and Thomas will hold his/her baby girl at the beginning of June. So far, the girl is normal and in good health.
When asked how it is to be a pregnant man by the magazine "Advocate", Thomas responded: "Incredible. Despite the fact that my belly is growing with a new life inside me, I am stable and confident being the man that I am. ... To Nancy, I am her husband carrying our child. ... I will be my daughter's father, and Nancy will be her mother. We will be a family." Specialists are worried about complications of this pregnancy.
Some don't see any problem as long as Thomas receives proper medical care and monitoring, while others believe that the embryo located in an organism that has been artificially filled with testosterone could experience a very difficult delivery. There is also the risk that the child could be more likely to develop cancer later in life.
These are strictly medical issues, as the child may face psychological problems while facing the reaction from other kids linked to her parentage.