Global bioethics statement calls for end to medically unnecessary intersex surgeries

The American Journal of Bioethics has published a global bioethics consensus statement, led by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and with contributions made by more than 150 international experts from more than 24 countries, including IHRA’s own Dr Morgan Carpenter and Mauro Cabral Grinspan.

The press release, published by the Practical Ethics blog of the University of Oxford's Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, identifies key findings:

• Medically unnecessary genital surgeries imposed on prepubertal children and infants violate their right to bodily integrity and future sexual autonomy, regardless of the level of harm or benefit as judged by others, such as doctors or parents.
• Current policies inconsistently protect some children (e.g., those with female-typical genitalia) while allowing medically unnecessary, non-voluntary genital procedures on other children (e.g., those with intersex traits, whether assigned female or male).
• The concept of ‘medical necessity’ should be strictly defined to prevent misuse. The authors provide a definition that focuses on serious, time-sensitive physical health threats to justify non-voluntary surgeries, while arguing that broader personal needs and preferences might justify voluntary surgeries that an individual requests for themselves.

Lead author Brian D. Earp, PhD, stated:

“Everyone should have the same right to decide what happens to their own sexual anatomy, no matter their skin colour or the size or shape of their genitals”

The study does not address religious male circumcision, nor surgeries performed in adolescence or adulthood.

The report is available to read free (open access):

The Brussels Collaboration on Bodily Integrity. 2024. ‘Genital Modifications in Prepubescent Minors: When May Clinicians Ethically Proceed?’ The American Journal of Bioethics. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2024.2353823.

Read the press release