Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice
Abstract
The article argues that current medical practices allowing parents and doctors to assign a physical sex to intersex children through surgery violate the child's fundamental rights to bodily integrity, personality, gender identity, and sexuality. These rights, while not yet fully defined in jurisprudence, provide a framework for protecting individuals from unwarranted governmental and medical intrusion. The article advocates for delaying such decisions until the child can consent, drawing on the Colombian Constitutional Court's recognition of a child's right to develop their gender identity. It also highlights the broader implications for transgender rights and challenges societal gender binaries.
Disciplines
Law | Law and Gender | Medical Jurisprudence | Sexuality and the Law
Recommended Citation
Sara R. Benson,
Hacking the Gender Binary Myth: Recognizing Fundamental Rights for the Intersexed,
12
Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just.
31
(2005).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol12/iss1/5