Kerala couple seeks nod for sex-affirmative surgery of 7-year-old child, high court dismisses plea
Kerala court dismisses plea for sex affirmative surgery on 7-year-old with ambiguous genitalia, orders regulation on such procedures on children.
The Kerala high court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by a couple seeking permission for sex-affirmative surgery of their seven-year-old with ambiguous genitalia to raise the child as a female. Noting the lack of norms regulating such surgeries on children, the court ordered the state government to construct a medical board to give its recommendations on the case. It also directed the government to issue an order regulating sex-selective surgeries on infants and children within three months.
Justice V G Arun in an order stated that a non-consensual sex affirmative surgery on a minor would violate the child's dignity and privacy. The ruling said that until norms for regulation are in place by the state government, “sex-selective surgery shall be permitted only based on the opinion of the state-level multidisciplinary committee that the surgery is essential to save the life of the child/infant.”
‘Right to choose identity has to be recognised’
“...I find that grant of permission for conducting genital reconstructive surgery would impinge the rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India and conduct of the surgery without consent would violate the child's dignity and privacy,” ruled the high court judge.
"Granting such permission may also result in severe emotional and psychological issues if, on attaining adolescence, the child develops orientation towards the gender, other than the one to which the child was converted through surgical intervention," the court said in its order.
It further added that the right of a human being to choose his/her sex or gender identity, which is one of the most basic aspects of self-determination, dignity and freedom, has to be recognised.
What are genital reconstructive surgeries?
According to the International Society for Sexual Medicine, gender reassignment surgery, sometimes called sex reassignment surgery, is performed to transition individuals with gender dysphoria to their desired gender.
“People with gender dysphoria often feel that they were born in the wrong gender. A biological male may identify more as a female and vice versa,” it explained.
Surgery is typically the last step in the physical transition process, but it is not a decision to be made lightly, the organisation added.
(With PTI inputs)
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