ACT Drafts Bill To Ban Medical Interventions On Intersex Kids Until They’re Old Enough To Decide

The ACT Government has released an Australia-first draft bill to end defferable medical or surgical interventions on intersex children until they are old enough to consent. If passed the bill would ban treatments — that are not required to prevent disease or illness — that permanently affect sex characteristics in babies and children who are born intersex. The term for people with chromosomes, reproductive organs or hormones that differ from female or male medical norms. Unfortunately, these procedures are pretty common and are usually done to make babies develop in a more typically male or female way as decided by the parents. But intersex and medical experts who have been advocating for the legislation for years said the procedures can safely be deferred until the child is old enough to decide how they identify. Intersex Human Rights Australia executive director Morgan Carpenter said in a statement