Thomas Beatie, a US man who was born female, underwent gender change surgery and is now pregnant, has sparked renewed debate in the United States about the rights of transgender individuals.
Beatie, who is legally male but decided to keep his female sex organs during chest reconstruction surgery and testosterone therapy, has appeared in several magazines and on Oprah Winfrey's talkshow since revealing that he is pregnant.
"I feel it's not a male or female desire to have a child. It's a human need. I'm a person and I have the right to have a biological child," Beatie told chat show host Winfrey this week, sporting a light beard.
His unusual situation first became public when he wrote an article in the leading US gay magazine The Advocate last month, entitled "Labor of Love." More info.
"To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don't appear in the least unusual," he wrote, explaining that his wife was unable to have a child after undergoing a hysterectomy and that they had conceived by artificial insemination.
Pregnant man On Oprah.