A Pregnant Man Speaks

[Hat Tip to Jay Hughes] "My decision to bear a child as a transgender male has been met with discrimination and outright derision by health care professionals." From Alternet, a story from an individual who is making maximum use of his bodily potential:

"To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don't appear in the least unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we live, we are viewed just as we are -- a happy couple deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first home, and start a family was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our child.

I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike those in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil unions, Nancy and I are afforded the more than 1,100 federal rights of marriage. Sterilization is not a requirement for sex reassignment, so I decided to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept my reproductive rights. Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire.

Ten years ago, when Nancy and I became a couple, the idea of us having a child was more dream than plan. I always wanted to have children. However, due to severe endometriosis 20 years ago, Nancy had to undergo a hysterectomy and is unable to carry a child..."

Full access to the rest of the story here.

"Silicon Womb" To Begin Large Scale Fertility Trial

If you're anything like me, when you see the phrase "silicon womb" you immediately flash to some sort of neo-Matrix growth tank, an artificial womb that removes the human womb completely from the picture. Which probably is an indication that the people behind this particular "silicon womb" ought to consider a name change, as that's not quite the case.

What this new silicon womb is, is actually a vaguely IUD looking tube that allows fertilized embryos to be matured inside a silicon tube placed inside the woman's womb, rather than a test tube incubator, before being removed after 2-5 days and then transferred back into the uterus.

The hope seems to be that a more natural maturation environment will lead to more successful implantations with fewer embyros needed for implantation, reducing the risks associated with multiple births that often accompany IVF treatment. It also is a partly practical move; test tube embryos need to have their growth medium changed every few hours. By moving the embryos to a more natural growth environment, there is no need for artificial growth medium; the body is instead naturally primed to generate nutrients and remove wastes for the developing embryos.

Of course, the silicon tube insert is only approximating a more natural environment - the uterus is an equally foreign place to embryos that are only a few days old; they would typically be floating their way lazily through a fallopian tube at this stage of development. Still, there's no arguing the point that, so far as mimicing natural goes, a uterus is probably a lot closer than a laboratory incubator.

I am, perhaps not surprisingly, a little more interested - and concerned - about the ethical concerns around this. There is already a large debate about what to do with IVF embryos that are leftover from a successful implantation cycle, with debates about their personhood and agency and whether they should be utilized for stem cell research or adopted out as snowflake children, or disposed of as human waste. What sort of attachment is a woman (and/or her partner) going to develop to a bunch of embryos that are actually being housed and growing inside of her, before being removed to be sorted and determined which should continue growing inside of her? While I've never had a child myself, I have heard many of my parent-friends talk about the incredible attachment and overwhelming love that they develop upon realizing they've conceived. Will those feelings be muted or mitigated by this artificial conception? Or will they develop stronger ties towards multiple embryos that cannot possibly be carried to term at the same time? From the sounds of it, the tubes can carry anywhere from 4-12 fertilized eggs; what happens to the unused, and what's the emotional ramification?

The medical implications are interesting, but it's the ethical ones that are fascinating - and sadly, don't appear talked about in any of the literature I've found about this new way of IVF embryo maturation.
-Kelly

images from Anecova

Ok, so maybe Male pregnancy isn't such a great idea...

We had posted earlier a reference to Male Pregnancy , encouraging discussion about male moms, but a recent article in Popular Science, that quotes our fellow bioethicist, Glenn McGee, from Albany Medical College, suggests that there would likely be serious risks associated with such a procedure. (But it does make you wonder, how do the male seahorses and pipefish manage?)

Male pregnancy: Is it a hoax or for real?

The AJOB blog is currently discussing the use of language in relation to embryos -- whether they should be "adopted" or "dismembered" -- but here's potential solution that's been overlooked: Maybe those embryos can partipicate in POP!, the world's first male pregnancy. Wouldn't that throw some groups for a loop! Although the site is an artist's rendition, the science behind it is very real. Besides, seahorses have been sharing the burden of pregnancy for millenium. Way to go, male moms! Guaranteed to cause intense discussion in bioethics classes!