Thomas Beatie, a US man who was born female, underwent gender realignment 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.

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.

While some have come out in support of Beatie's right to bear a child, and decried the discrimination that Beatie and other transgender individuals are up against, others have been less supportive.                                                

He is not able to breastfeed, guaranteed, which is the single, most important thing you can do for your child nutrition-wise, said one letter-writer in the Advocate.

But Robert Haaland, a female-to-male activist, said he believed most Americans were comfortable with the idea of Beatie bearing a child.

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