Legal, ethical, and human rights considerations for physicians treating children with atypical or ambiguous genitalia

Abstract

Some governments, human rights organizations, intersex organizations, and doctors have called for a moratorium on genital and gonadal surgeries for infants born with atypical or ambiguous genitalia. Moratorium supporters believe that the surgeries carry physical and emotional risks, the psychosocial benefits of these procedures have not been proven, and the surgeries violate the patients׳ fundamental human rights if they are performed before these patients can provide informed consent. Given these calls for a moratorium, treatment teams must determine how to treat their patients and how to counsel their patients׳ parents. This article examines the treatment teams׳ ethical and legal responsibilities and provides advice for treatment teams to follow that will protect their patients and their practices.

Keywords: Genital surgery; Human rights; Informed consent; Intersex.