California Could Be First to Ban Medically Unnecessary Surgeries on Intersex Babies
SOME good news
California Could Be First to Ban Medically Unnecessary Surgeries on Intersex Babies
https://rewire.news/article/2019/02/04/california-could-be-first-to-ban-medically-unnecessary-surgeries-on-intersex-babies/
Feb 4, 2019, 4:26pm Amy Littlefield
The California measure would be the first mandate of its kind after state legislators last year passed the first-ever legislation to address the rights of intersex people.
[Photo: A group of people gather around a podium during a press conference.]
Intersex patients have spoken out about how surgeries performed when they were too young to understand—much less give consent—have deprived them of sexual pleasure, sterilized them, traumatized them, or altered their bodies to reinforce a gender assignment that is not theirs.
A California lawmaker has introduced a landmark bill to ban doctors from performing medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children until the child can give informed consent.
As many as 1.7 percent of people are born with chromosomal or anatomical differences that put them outside the typical definition of “male” or “female.” About one in 2,000 babies is different enough that doctors may recommend surgery, but there’s no comprehensive U.S. database tracking the procedures. While some surgeries are medically necessary—to allow babies to pass urine, for example—others are performed to “normalize” genitalia.
The California bill, introduced last week by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), outlines a process for intersex minors to give written consent to surgery after being informed of the risks, benefits, and alternatives. It allows surgeons to operate on intersex children without their consent if the operation cannot be safely deferred.
“We believe that people should be able to make their own decisions about their own body,” Wiener said at a news conference Monday. “They certainly can’t make that decision as a baby.”
As Rewire.News reported, intersex patients have spoken out about how surgeries performed when they were too young to understand—much less give consent—have deprived them of sexual pleasure, sterilized them, traumatized them, or altered their bodies to reinforce a gender assignment that is not theirs. While human rights groups and three former U.S. surgeons general have condemned medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children, it’s unclear whether the procedures have declined in recent years.................................
= new reply since forum marked as read
