For an introduction to these issues, see our page on bodily integrity
The following letter has been sent to: the FDA Office of Pediatric Therapeutics; the HHS Office for Human Research Protections; Mount Sinai Medical Center (Dr. New’s current institution); Weill Medical School of Cornell University (from which much of this treatment appears to have been administered, under Dr. New’s guidance); Florida International University (where Dr. New…
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Published in November 2008, Fixing Sex: Intersex, Medical Authority, and Lived Experience by Katrina Karkazis is compelling and recommended reading. Meticulously researched and approachable in style, it presents a historical analysis of the treatment of intersex people, together with an analysis of both current medical practice and the impact on intersex people and our families….
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What human rights are affected by early medical interventions aimed at “normalising” the bodies of intersex infants, children and adolescents? The Yogyakarta Principles In particular Principle 18: B: Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure that no child’s body is irreversibly altered by medical procedures in an attempt to impose a gender…
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The Hon. Diana Bryant, Chief Justice, Family Court of Australia, gave the Costello Lecture, on Thursday 23 July 2009, talking about medical treatment on children. 2009 COSTELLO LECTURE Thursday 23 July 2009 IT’S MY BODY, ISN’T IT? CHILDREN, MEDICAL TREATMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS Diana Bryant, Chief Justice, Family Court of Australia Introduction I am pleased…
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The Department of Health & Ageing has responded to Morgan Carpenter’s enquiries about testosterone for intersex men.
Download our poster: “Doctors Remove the Gonads of AIS Females Because…”
Extract from OII Australia’s response to the Australian federal Department of Health and Ageing discussion paper on a New National Woman’s Health Policy: Some intersex individuals need anti-androgen medication. Because those medicines are not recognized treatments for the specific diagnosis the only path to that medication is to register the intersex person in question as…
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Issue 1: An end to non-consensual infant genital surgery. OII opposes all cosmetic (non-essential) surgery on infants without their full and informed participation in decision-making and their agreement…
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a paper titled Surgery on intersex infants and human rights. We deeply regret the report’s equivocation on surgery to modify the appearance of intersex infants and children. The report acknowledges such interventions without commenting on their necessity or lifelong consequences. It is available for download here.
OII Australia is sensitive towards photographic depictions of intersex individuals. The reasons for OII Australia’s sensitivity are exemplified in this article about non-consensual photography. We can’t help but wonder if the photographic voyeurism, and staff attitudes towards this person’s body, impacted on the quality of care that was given – the person is known to…
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From the Sydney Morning Herald of 3rd June, this report by Andrew Darby: Routine operation may be a crime Once routine, now often thought unkind, the cut may also be illegal. Parental consent might not be enough to protect the circumcisers of baby boys from later legal action. In a rare legal analysis of the…
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James Pate, MD has kindly provided us with the following: The first mention of “disorder of sex development” I could find was by CE Ford in 1961 (Ford CE. The cytogenetic analysis of some disorder of sex development. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 82:1154-61, 1961 Nov.) Other historical terminology I found was: Disorder of…
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