The Future Might See Pregnant Men

Several times have I heard radical feminists announce that males are no longer needed in human society. With modern technique, women can manage reproduction by themselves. Only a handful of males are needed to produce enough sperm to fertilise many thousands of women. On the other hand, men who wish to become biological parents are dependent on women willing to give birth to their children. Nature has made it impossible for males to become pregnant. But maybe things are about to change?

P. Z. Myers, a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, has written a truly interesting article on male pregnancy. "I started this by speculating that it would be possible for human males to play a much greater role in childrearing," he writes. "Now I’m beginning to think this could actually have some dramatic effects on human society and human biology. Science should frighten the conservatives!" I bet it will.

It sounds feasible to me. Zygotes are aggressive little parasites that will implant just about anywhere in the coelom—it’s why ectopic pregnancies are a serious problem—so all we need to do there is culture a bit of highly vascularised tissue in the male abdomen that will serve as a secure home for a few months. We’ll have to play some endocrine games, too, which may effect his love life but will also prepare him to lactate post-partum. There’s the minor anatomical problem that the vagina is a unique tissue, and no, the urethra is not homologous or analogous (fortunately; we wouldn’t want to have to push an 8 pound baby through the penis, even if female hyenas can manage it)—but that’s what c-sections are for. Given money, time, and a few weird volunteers, it could be done.