Thomas Beatie, 36, is the highest profile transgender person to give birth. Beatie was born a woman, but eventually made the transition to have himself legally declared a man. He took male hormones and underwent surgery to remove his breasts, but retained his womb. Beatie and his wife Nancy (who is legally his wife in Oregon, as he is legally male) wanted to have a child, but Nancy had to have a hysterectomy due to endometriosis and it was not an option for her to carry their child. They made the decision for Beatie to get pregnant through artificial insemination, and he gave birth to their first child, a little girl named Susan Juliette, last June. Nancy, 47, breastfed the baby after inducing lactation through hormones.
The Beaties drew criticism last year for their decision to go public with their pregnancy. They went on Oprah, posed for pictures when pregnant and with their newborn, and granted interviews to other high profile media outlets like 20/20. Some said they were drawing unnecessary attention to themselves in an attempt to capitalize on their situation. Others applauded their decision and said they had little choice but to go public with Thomas’ pregnancy. There’s a lot of controversy around their decision and they could either try to hide it and deal with the consequences or open themselves up and hope that enough people would understand.
I saw them on Oprah and came away with the impression that they were loving people who would make excellent parents. Going public seemed like the best option for them considering their circumstances. Two of their neighbors were on Oprah and said they had no idea that Thomas was physically female until learning that he was expecting.
Thomas got pregnant again, and last November we learned that he was expecting. This time around Thomas and Nancy didn’t do the press rounds after announcing the pregnancy and we didn’t hear much about them. Earlier this week, Thomas gave birth to their second child, a boy whose name has yet to be announced:
Thomas Beatie, the controversial “pregnant man,” gave birth to his second child, a healthy baby boy, early this morning, “20/20” has learned.
Sources close to the couple say that it was a “natural childbirth” and that they have not yet decided on the boy’s name. Beatie’s wife, Nancy, will be breastfeeding their son, as she did with their daughter, Susan Juliette, who was born last June.
Photos of a bearded Beatie with a pregnant belly caused a sensation last year, leading to headlines about the world’s first “pregnant man.”
Born a woman named Tracy, Thomas Beatie, now 35, had sex-reassignment surgery and legally changed his gender from female to male in Hawaii.
Beatie, who kept his female reproductive organs, says that he decided to bear children, when his wife Nancy, 46, was not able to.
The couple described their unusual path to parenthood in an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters last year, during which they revealed that Thomas was expecting a second child.
[From ABCNews.com]
Thomas explained to Oprah last year that the desire to have a child is not based on gender. “I feel it’s not a male or female desire to want to have a child, it’s a human desire. I’m a person and I have the right to have my own biological child.” Beatie and his wife have a book out that was published late last year called Labor of Love: The Story of One Man’s Extraordinary Pregnancy. The reviews on Amazon are overwhelmingly positive.
Congratulations to Thomas and Nancy on their new arrival.
