Many of you have probably heard of Thomas Beatie, the "pregnant man." He is a transgendered individual who was a woman but had surgery to become a man. His surgery did not rid him of his female parts, however, so when he and his wife decided wanted to have children and she could not conceive, he decided to bear the child himself.

Needless to say, the decision - and the photos of him pregnant - have generated much talk about it, as well as a visit with Oprah herself.

Also, however, the situation has stirred much controversy, including over issues such as the health of the baby. In order to have the baby with the right bodily conditions, he needed to have certain chemicals and hormones injected in him so he could later breastfeed, etc. How healthy can this be for the baby?

There is also the issue of one's individual rights over his or her body, similar to a woman's decision to have an abortion. Beatie decided to have surgeries and he also decided to have a child... who's to say he can't?

One issue involved in this that has particularly bothered me is how he is dodging all the legal barriers that prevent many people from what they want. Some are bothered that he gets to enjoy all the benefits of being a man and a woman in a relationship that may be considered "traditional" in the eyes of the law, though it isn't really. He is basically living in a same-sex relationship but can have the advantages of a legal one.

Many feel this is a step in the direction of complete freedom of oneself, absolute expression of one's body and desires in a legal way. He is definitely altering the definitions of what it means to be a man or woman, which is great for some people but disturbing to others.

Personally I feel there is little anyone can do about this. I don't like cheating, and I feel that many people are being cheated by Beatie's leaps around the law. I also think everyone deserves to be happy, so if he and his wife want to have their own children, what can you do? This is hard to outlaw, if anyone did want to outlaw such a scenario, because it's so complicated. I never really considered this anyone's business but their's, anyway.

I feel all I can do is hope the baby is healthy. It's almost like an experiment, to see if humans are really challenging Nature and if Nature will strike back.