A pregnant man?

A former isle gay rights activist says he is with child and has created a stir around the world

A former Hawaii gay rights activist is claiming he will give birth to a baby in July.

Thomas Beatie was born a woman and had a sex change with chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy, he said in an article on Advocate.com. But he kept his reproductive organs because he always wanted to have a child, and his wife can't have children.

Beatie was known as Tracy LaGondino in Honolulu, before he moved to Bend, Ore.

Although his claim hasn't been confirmed, Beatie is making headlines across the world. This morning, ABC News was scheduled to air a segment about his story on its "Good Morning America" show, according to producer Jason Stine.

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A transgendered male, formerly of Hawaii, claims he will give birth to a baby girl. Thomas Beatie, who was born a woman and moved from Hawaii to Bend, Ore., says he kept his reproductive organs after having a sex change with chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy because he always wanted to have a child, he wrote in a March 14 article for Advocate.com, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender news Web site. He is featured in a photo on the Web site with a bulging belly.

Beatie, who was a gay rights activist in Hawaii, said his wife is unable to have children after having surgery because of severe endometriosis. It is a medical condition in which tissues that usually grow inside the uterus appear on the outside, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Before allegedly becoming pregnant about five months ago through home insemination, Beatie stopped taking testosterone injections and his "body regulated itself," he wrote. He said he was forced to abort a previous pregnancy of triplets because of life-threatening complications, but that now is due to give birth to a girl on July 3.

"How does it feel to be a pregnant man?" Beatie continued. "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."

In Hawaii, Beatie was known as Tracy LaGondino, then a chairwoman for the Civil Unions-Civil Rights group. Michael Golojuch, who joined LaGondino in a gay and lesbian March in Honolulu in 2001, said he was aware of her name change but that they had not talked since she moved away.

Beatie's wife, Nancy, declined to comment yesterday, saying the couple, owners of a T-shirt screen-printing business, wanted to finish a vacation before addressing the media.

"Right now, basically I'm trying to have a vacation and we are not talking to anybody," she said when reached by telephone yesterday.

In the Advocate piece, Beatie said his pregnancy "sparks legal, political and social unknowns," noting he was discriminated by doctors. A phone message seeking comment from the Advocate was not immediately returned.

Although his claim hasn't been confirmed, Beatie is making headlines across the world. This morning, ABC News was scheduled to air a segment about his story on its "Good Morning America" show, said producer Jason Stine.

"It seems to be real, but there are a lot of people who are skeptical," he said. "We are going to do a story asking questions like, 'Is this real?'"