'People with intersex variations
'People with intersex variations' is an umbrella term for people born with physical, hormonal or genetic features that are
neither wholly female nor wholly male;
or a combination of female and male;
or neither female nor male.
Norms for sex selective surgeries on intersex infants
The Kerala High Court has directed the State government to issue within three months an order regulating sex selective surgeries on intersex infants and children.
The court passed the directives recently while disposing of a writ petition filed by the parents of a child born with ambiguous genitalia seeking permission of the court to conduct a genital reconstructive surgery on the child.
The court directed the government to constitute a State-level multidisciplinary committee consisting of a paediatrician/ paediatric endocrinologist, paediatric surgeon and child psychiatrist/ child psychologist to decide whether the child was facing any life threatening situation by reason of the ambiguous genitalia.
If so, permission could be granted for carrying out the surgery.
Concerns
The court observed that grant of permission for conducting genital reconstructive surgery would impinge the rights guaranteed under the Constitution and conduct of the surgery without consent would violate the child’s dignity and privacy.
Granting such permission may also result in severe emotional and psychological issues if, on attaining adolescence, the child developed orientation towards the gender, other than the one to which the child was converted through surgical intervention.
It pointed out that the definition of transgender in Section 2(k) of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act took in persons with intersex variations also, thereby making the protections under the Act available to such persons.
Section 4(2) of the Act guaranteed the right to have a self perceived gender identity.
The right to choose gender was vested with the individual concerned and no one else, not even the court.
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