3 women having sex changes are now on the 'brink' of having babies

Women having sex changes on the NHS are being given free fertility treatment so they can have babies after they become men.

At least three British men who were born female are ‘on the brink’ of becoming parents using IVF techniques, according to a top doctor.

And dozens more are now having their eggs frozen at NHS clinics before undergoing surgery or hormone therapy to switch sex.

A medical first: Thomas Beatie, when pregnant for the first time. He was the first man to give birth and went on to have two more sons

The controversial treatment means that a British transgender man could soon become a parent – all funded by the taxpayer.

In rare circumstances, the man could become pregnant and give birth, although the vast majority of cases would involve implanting an embryo into a surrogate mother, often the man’s partner.

Last night critics said cash-strapped health authorities should not be spending up to £34,000 per patient to help them change sex and have children when they are rationing basic services such as cataract operations, hip replacements and even hearing aids. 

Tory MP Peter Bone said: ‘I am not sure why the taxpayer should be funding this. I just sometimes ask if the NHS is getting its priorities right.’

But one of Britain’s leading sex change doctors defended the practice, saying patients undergoing gender reassignment surgery had as much right to preserve their fertility as young people with cancer who freeze their eggs or sperm before having chemotherapy.

In 2008 Thomas Beatie proved it is possible for trans-men to physically have a baby themselves if they keep their female reproductive organs. He is pictured with his daughter Susan and son Jensen

Dr James Barrett, of the NHS Gender Identity Clinic in West London, said three of his patients who have transitioned from women to men were close to becoming parents. 

He added that, in the last year, he had asked GPs to refer about 50 of his female-to-male patients to have eggs frozen, and about 100 of his male-to-female patients to have their sperm frozen.

‘As a matter of principle, anybody who loses their fertility as a result of standard NHS treatment should be able to preserve their fertility,’ he argued.


Source: UK Daily Mail