Is the story of a pregnant man legit?

Is the story of a pregnant man legit?

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Story Published: Mar 25, 2008 at 7:59 PM PDT

Story Updated: Mar 25, 2008 at 8:03 PM PDT

By Dan Tilkin and KATU Web Staff

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BEND, Ore. - It's a story that is making waves around the world - a man from Oregon who claims to be pregnant.  But is this the real deal or just an elaborate hoax?

It all started with an article on Advocate.com where a picture showing a seemingly pregnant man appeared and the man himself, Thomas Beatie, wrote that he is five months pregnant.

Beatie said in the article that he used to be a woman but kept his female reproductive organs following a sex change.  He said he and his legally married wife are expecting a baby girl in July.

KATU News took a trip to Bend to see if we could find out whether the story is true or not. 

Beatie and his wife, who live in an upscale neighborhood and own a business, were nowhere to be found.  Neighbors said they have not seen them for days and one person said a TV crew, possibly from a tabloid, had been following their every move.

Despite all the media attention, those who know the couple are skeptical.

"Quite frankly, I think it's a hoax," said neighbor Ron Schlieper.  "I saw him a few days ago and he didn't look like that," he said in reference to the picture from the Advocate.com Web site.  "He was walking down the street with who I thought was his wife, Nancy, and I don't recall seeing a belly.  If that (picture was taken) a month ago, he would have been much bigger just a few days ago."

Schlieper said Beatie's wife told him that she was pregnant.  Another neighbor said the couple left their house every week for fertility treatments in Portland.

The whole thing has caught people in neighboring businesses off guard.

"I couldn't say that he looks pregnant," said Bend resident Josh Love.  "I can stick my stomach out and almost make it look like that."

According to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, before Thomas Beatie was Thomas Beatie, he was a woman named Tracy Langondino.  They sent us a picture from a story they did about his gay rights work when he lived there several years ago.

We hope to learn a lot more about this story in about two weeks.  KATU has been in contact with the couple by phone and they said they would be able to talk more after their confidentiality agreement runs out with whoever it is they are giving their story to, which is likely a tabloid (tabloids pay for stories, unlike KATU News).

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