State Decides Hermaphrodite Baby's Gender with Irreversible Sex-Assignment Surgery

[marmar]

CHARLESTON, S.C. (CN) - South Carolina's Department of Social Services ordered doctors to do irreversible, medically unnecessary sex-assignment surgery on a year-old child in state custody, her adoptive parents claim in court.

Pamela and John Mark Crawford sued three doctors and four Social Services workers on behalf of their child, M.C., in Federal Court. M.C. is 8 years old.

"This lawsuit challenges the decision by government officials and doctors to perform an irreversible, painful, and medically unnecessary sex assignment surgery on a sixteen-month-old child in state custody. Defendants performed this surgery for the purpose of 'assigning' the child the female gender despite their own conclusion that he 'was a true hermaphrodite but that there was no compelling reason that she should either be male or female,'" the complaint states.

M.C. was taken into state custody because his mother was deemed unfit and his father had abandoned him, according to the complaint. The Crawfords say the parental rights of the child's biological parents were terminated. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/state-decides-hermaphrodite-babys-gender-irreversible-sex-assignment-surgery

[Politicalboi]

1. But how would they fill out the paper work

It's male OR female. Paper work is important. It's important to have it right the FIRST time.

Such a sad story here. That child will be damaged for life. Were they ashamed to wait and see what sex the child is? Doctors who think sex organs is all there is to gender identity should get their licenses taken away. Frankenstein's, the whole lot of them.

[demwing]

3. why damaged for life?

What the state did was stupid and wrong, but there's a slightly better than 50% chance the gender selection will work out, and the child may not ever even remember this time period.

[One_Life_To_Give]

2. Often the case

Unfortunately this has reportedly been happening for years, although it's frequently Doctors that make the decision. Thanks to the Internet we are finally starting to hear the stories of the children who were assigned a gender rather than allowed to be ambiguous.

[ismnotwasm]

4. This is bullshit.

It's been happening for a long time and has caused a lot of pain. Bi-gendered people have support groups, but nor much power. It's ok to allow a person to grow into a decision, which might be no surgery at all.

[Zorra]

6. Yes. Well said. nt

[HappyMe]

5. Why the fuck would they do this?

Couldn't they just have left the kid alone. What if the kid doesn't want to be a girl, and later in life feels like a guy? Or maybe doesn't feel like they want to be either sex?

Good fucking grief, they had no business mutilating that baby.