By George Papaioannou
First publication in Greek on NEWS4HEALTH, July 13nth, 2022
Translated by Intersex Greece
The Secretary of the Non-Governmental Association INTERSEX GREECE, Irene Simeonidou, shocked with her speech from the floor of the Parliament, who called on all parties to vote for the bill for the legal ban of medical interventions that change the sex characteristics of intersex monores before the age of 15 years.
Speaking from the floor of Parliament, the Secretary of the NGO INTERSEX GREECE, Irene Simeonidou, expressed her enthusiasm for the draft law that was posted on June 20. According to the bill, medical interventions to change the sex characteristics of intersex minors before the age of 15 are now prohibited.
What are intersex people – One in 100 are born intersex
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that are either female and male at the same time, neither completely female nor male, or neither female nor male.
Mrs. Simeonidou emphasizes that the term hermaphrodite, which has been “historically abusive and stigmatizing for intersex people, should not be used.”
When an intersex infant is born with non-typical features, parents are often advised to undergo surgery and other medical procedures to surgically conform the child’s anatomical features to the typical male or female anatomy of sex characteristics. In most cases such interventions are not medically necessary. They can easily be postponed, and can have extremely negative psychosomatic consequences for intersex children as they grow up.
It is estimated that at least 1 in 100 people are born intersex, and authoritative sources estimate that up to 1.7% of people show some intersex variation in their sex characteristics.
The Organization of Fundamental Rights of the European Union has characterized interventions on intersex children as torture.
What the bill achieves – ‘Historic moment for all intersex children’
Mrs. Symeonidou analyzed what is achieved with this bill.
It initially prohibits medical procedures and treatments performed on intersex children who in the medical literature and jurisprudence are referred to as children with “Disorders of Sex Development” or with “Variations of Sex Development”. Such operations shall be performed only on intersex minors who have reached the age of fifteen and only with their free and informed consent.
In addition, in order to carry out any medical intervention, not necessary for health, permission should have previously been given by decision of the relevant magistrate’s court, following the granting of an opinion by an interdisciplinary committee, which will consist of special experts in such matters.
Finally, the bill provides for fines and imprisonment for those doctors who perform operations on intersex minors, without the above relevant license.
“If this bill is passed, it will truly be a historic moment for all intersex children in Greece, as some of their most important human rights will be protected and recognized, such as the right to bodily integrity, self-determination and the free development of of their personality” characteristically commented Mrs. Simeonidou.
She then added: “This bill may not solve all the human rights violations experienced by intersex people in Greece, as these do not only occur in the health sector, but also in every other level of life, education, family , society, state. However, the relevant legal provision, if passed, will be an excellent start for the safety and the well-being of intersex people, especially children, as every democratic state must ensure and provide. Because, intersex rights are human rights,” she stressed.
The testimonies of intersex people are shocking
Afterwards, the Secretary of the non-governmental association INTERSEX GREECE, Irene Simeonidou, quoted her own and other shocking testimonies of intersex people and their parents. Among other things, she mentioned her own experience. She described how she came close to not giving birth to her own child because two obstetricians suggested she terminate the pregnancy because she would give birth to an intersex baby.
“13 years ago I was five months pregnant and two obstetricians at the local hospital suggested, very insistently, that we must terminate the healthy and desirable baby I was carrying because it had an extra X on the sex chromosome. They also insisted that the standard procedure for any fetus with XXY chromosomes, like ours, is termination, because if born, we were told, it would be a freak, a monster, a mistake of nature. These were their exact words. Despite their pressure, we chose to get better informed, changed doctors, continued and today, we are blessed to have a wonderful and healthy teenage intersex child. However, our child’s life was back then in danger of being lost through sheer ignorance and prejudice. From similar accounts of other couples, we know that this standard procedure continues to be followed, even today, like a silent genocide.
However, we want to show you some testimonies from the children who were actually born. Because in addition to selective terminations, these children, in case they manage to be born, if their external anatomy happens to be ambiguous, as the doctors say, doubtful, there are proposed normalization operations, which we want to prohibit with this bill” she said.
Simeonidou’s appeal to all political parties
Mrs. Simeonidou closed her speech by calling on all parties to vote on articles 17 to 20 of the bill, as submitted to the Parliament, for the legal ban on cosmetic operations on intersex children.
“Above all else it is also completely consistent with the Hippocratic Oath which constantly reminds us that medical operations should benefit and not cause harm” she concluded in her speech.
The entire speech of Irene Simeonidou
“Thank you very much. We are here today and first of all, thank you very much for the step, we are here as founding members of INTERSEX GREECE, the President, Vasso Vouvaki, the Vice President, Eleni Pateraki, me, Irene Simeonidou, and our legal advisor, Nicoleta Pikramenou. Very soon, let us update you on a few things. First of all, let’s say that we not only agree, but we are excited about the draft law that was posted on June 20th. In order to understand the content, but also the necessity of upvoting the specific articles, let us say a few words.
Intersex is an international umbrella term used to describe the wide range of natural physical diversity of sex characteristics. Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that are either female and male at the same time, or not completely female nor completely male, or neither female nor male. In Greek many times the term middlesex has been used incorrectly, which, however, does not translate the term Intersex, nor does it express intersex people.
However, today, we know that genitalia, hormones, internal anatomy, or chromosomes can develop in many different ways, making biological sex a diverse and multifactorial continuum.
Additionally, the term hermaphrodite, which has historically been abusive and stigmatizing to intersex people, should not be used. In the medical community, the term intersex was replaced in 2006 with the pathologizing, in our opinion, term Disorders of Sex Development, in an attempt to absolve parents who consented until then to non-medically necessary cosmetic operations to normalize the genitals of their intersex children, usually keeping these operations hidden from the children themselves.
And according to modern testimonies of adult intersex persons, there are not a few times that such operations caused them sterilization, loss of sexual sensation, psychosomatic trauma and health problems, while they subjected them to lifelong hormone replacement therapy or even caused them gender incongruence.
What is happening in Greece now with these children? When an intersex infant is born with non-typical features, parents are often advised to undergo surgery and other medical procedures to surgically conform the child’s anatomical features to the typical male or female anatomy of sex characteristics. In most cases such interventions are not medically necessary. They can easily be postponed, and can have extremely negative psychosomatic consequences for intersex children as they grow up.
There are many ways in which variations in sex characteristics can occur. A child may be born with a larger clitoris or with a smaller or differently formed, for example hypospadic, penis.
Sometimes a child is born looking outwardly female, but is found to have XY chromosomes and internal testes. Other times a typically male-looking child is found to have XX chromosomes, but internally to carry an uterus or ovaries.
In some cases a girl will not start menstruating or a boy will start menstruating. Other children may have a different chromosomal or hormonal profile than expected for girls or boys. That is, to have 47XXY, 47XYY and many more.
Such variations are natural and more common than previously thought. It is estimated that at least 1 in 100 people are born intersex, and authoritative sources estimate that up to 1.7 people show some intersex variation in their sex characteristics.
The United Nations Organization, the European Parliament, with its resolution, the Organization of Fundamental Rights of the European Union have characterized the operations on intersex children as torture and have proceeded with strong recommendations to the member states to prohibit them by law.
In Europe, Malta, Portugal and Germany have already passed laws to ban such interventions, and more and more countries are preparing to follow.
What will be achieved now if the bill is passed for these children? First, let’s emphasize that this bill does not concern trans or transgender people. It concerns exclusively intersex people and operations carried out mainly in their infancy and early childhood or even later, without their consent.
More specifically, this bill prohibits medical procedures and treatments performed on intersex children who in the medical literature and jurisprudence are referred to as children with disorders of sex development or with differences of sex development. Such operations may only be performed on intersex minors who have reached the age of fifteen and only with their free and informed consent.
In addition, in order to carry out any medical intervention, not necessary for health, permission must first have been granted by a decision of the relevant magistrates’ court, following the granting of an opinion by an interdisciplinary committee, which will consist of special experts in such matters.
Finally, the bill provides for fines and imprisonment for those doctors who perform operations on minor intersex people, without the above relevant permission. If this bill is passed, it will truly be a historic moment for all intersex children in Greece, as some of their most important human rights will be protected and recognized, such as the right to bodily integrity, self-determination and the free development of their personality.
This bill may not solve all the human rights violations experienced by intersex persons in Greece, as these do not occur exclusively in the field of health, but also in every other level of life, education, family, society, state. However, the relevant legal provision, if passed, will be an excellent start for the safety and the well-being of intersex people, especially children, as every democratic state must ensure and provide. Because, intersex rights are human rights.
This is what we had to say very briefly. In addition to these, some experiential phrases are at your disposal, given to us by our members. If I may have your permission I can read them to you.
Thank you very much. First of all, I will start with my own experience, as a result of the unnecessary pathologizing that happens to these children and that in Europe historically starts from the beginning of the 19th century, it is not new. 13 years ago I was five months pregnant and two obstetricians at the local hospital suggested, very insistently, that we terminate the healthy and desirable baby I was carrying because the baby had an extra X on the sex chromosome. They also insisted that the standard procedure for any fetus with XXY chromosomes, like ours, is termination, because if born we were told it would be a freak, a monster, a mistake of nature. These were their exact words. Despite their pressure, we chose to get better informed, changed doctors, continued and today, we are blessed to have a wonderful and healthy teenage intersex child. However, our child’s life was back then in danger of being lost through sheer ignorance and prejudice. From similar accounts of other couples, we know that this standard procedure continues to be followed, even today, like a silent genocide.
However, we want to show you some testimonies from the children who were actually born. Because in addition to selective terminations, these children, when they manage to be born, if their external anatomy happens to be ambiguous, as the doctors say, dubious, there are proposed normalization operations, which we want to prohibit with this bill.
These operations are performed without the knowledge of the children and without the children being old enough to give informed consent. So the testimonies I wanted to tell you are about such children and they have come verbatim and I will read a few of them now:
“I was operated on when I was only three years old. I wish my parents had been given more options. I’m sorry for the huge scar I have and that I had no say in what happened to my own body.”
Another: “My parents were not informed that they had the option of non-surgical alternatives. Surgery is the last resort for all other people, why not for us?” Another intersex adult tells us: “if the doctors had been more honest about the chances of success of the operation, my parents would have made very different decisions on my behalf.”
“All my life I felt unworthy to exist as I was born, I was a vulnerable child and vulnerable were my parents. I still have nightmares. Every morning a surgeon would come to my room, surrounded by a group of students and they are all talking about my genitals, as if I were a lifeless doll on a bed.”
And a last one “The non-consensual surgery on my genitals destroyed my sense of self and confidence.”
Therefore, we fervently call on all members of the Hellenic Parliament on behalf of intersex children and adults and their families, whom we represent here today, to support this step taken by Greece by voting in favor of articles 17 to 20 of the bill, as tabled in Parliament, for the legal prohibition of cosmetic operations on intersex children. Apart from anything else, it is also completely consistent with the Hippocratic Oath that constantly reminds us that medical procedures should benefit and not cause harm. Thank you very much.”