Sex change man gives birth to baby daughter

Thomas Beatie who was born female but had gender reassignment surgery and is now male, gave birth to a baby daughter on July 4th. 10 years ago, Beatie -then known as Tracy Lagondino had her breasts removed surgically, took male hormones and legally changed gender to male. He decided however to keep his female reproductive organs. This allowed him to use his eggs to conceive with donor sperm when his wife, Nancy, was unable to become pregnant.

To conceive, Mr Beatie stopped the bimonthly testosterone injections he was receiving as part of his sex change. Finding it difficult to get help from a doctor, the couple bought anonymous donor vials from a sperm bank. To artificially inseminate Mr Beatie the couple used a syringe they bought from a vet that is typically used to feed birds.

Mr Beatie has not shunned publicity during his pregnancy. Photographed with a beard and bulging naked stomach - in a pose reminiscent of Demi Moore's celebrated Vanity Fair shoot, Mr Beatie has been a tabloid favourite ever since. Interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show, Mr Beatie said "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," he said. A book documenting his journey from Hawaiian beauty queen via partial sex change surgery to new father is to be published in September.

Mr Beatie has said he may have more children, once he has experienced fatherhood.

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