Unsurprisingly, the segment featured only a positive take on the situation, offering no sound bites questioning the normalcy of the child’s life. Reporter Ryan Owens touted, "The little girl's conception may have been complicated, but her parents insist her life now will be normal."
The designated "expert" of the segment, biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, claimed:
What's astonishing about this particular pair is that they actually behave like a man and a woman in a very traditional marriage and will probably bring those roles to the family and the little girl will grow up like all little girls grow up, with a daddy and a mommy.
This one-sided take on the situation has been common in GMA’s reports on Beatie. In a March 26 interview with obstetrician Lisa Masterson who voiced support for Beatie’s pregnancy, GMA co-host Chris Cuomo gushed, "Oddity aside, biology aside, it is all about love of this child and as long as that's present, everything else is really going to be normal."
The transcript of the July 4 segment, which aired at 7:17 a.m., follows:
ONSCREEN GRAPHIC: "It's a girl!: Pregnant Man Gives Birth"
DAVID MUIR: We're going to turn now to a story that's made worldwide headlines. The pregnant man who you've likely heard so much about by now has given birth to a baby girl. Thomas Beatie was born a woman, changed gender to a man but kept her female organs, if you follow that, is now the father of a healthy girl born Sunday in Oregon. And ABC's Ryan Owens has the story this morning.
RYAN OWENS: The so-called pregnant man is now a parent. That's Thomas Beatie wearing a hood as he walks out of an
THOMAS BEATIE (from “Oprah”): I feel it's not a male or a female desire to want to have a child. It's a human desire and I'm a person and I have the right to have my own biological child.
OWENS: Three months ago, Beatie and his wife Nancy brought Oprah along on a doctor's appointment when they were assured their little girl would be healthy.
BEATIE: Now that we know that the pregnancy is healthy it's -- these are tears of joy.
OWENS: Beatie has been living as a man for years, even sporting a beard for his pregnancy pictures. But he kept his female reproductive organs so he could one day have a child. Nine months ago, his wife artificially inseminated him with sperm from a donor. The little girl's conception may have been complicated, but her parents insist her life now will be normal.
BEATIE'S WIFE: He's gonna be the father and I'm gonna be the mother.
HELEN FISHER, Chemistry.com: What's astonishing about this particular pair is that they actually behave like a man and a woman in a very traditional marriage and will probably bring those roles to the family and the little girl will grow up like all little girls grow up, with a daddy and a mommy.
OWENS: At least for now, the baby girl is being shielded from the glare of the spotlight, her parents apparently believing she deserves a little privacy after the very public, very unusual way she was brought into the world. For Good Morning
