BILL NUMBER: S8278

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN

 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the
department of health to conduct a public information and outreach
campaign on medically unnecessary treatments on persons born with inter-
sex traits or variations in sex characteristics

 
PURPOSE:

This bill amends public health law, in relation to requiring the New
York State Department of Health to conduct a public information and
outreach campaign on medically unnecessary treatments on persons born
with intersex traits or variations in sex characteristics.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 207 by adding a paragraph (q) that reads, the
physical, sexual and psychological impact of nonemergent medical proce-
              

dures performed on individuals with variations in sex characteristics
who have not themselves consented to the procedure; provided that such a
program shall include an advisory council under this section that shall
include intersex persons themselves, intersex- led organizations, and
health care providers with demonstrated medical expertise treating
intersex individuals in a manner that respects their bodily integrity
and self-determination, among others.

Subsection two of Section two relates to the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There are over 30 intersex variations, resulting in congenital vari-
ations in sex characteristics that occur in at least 1.7% of the popu-
lation. In the majority of cases, infants and children born with vari-
ations in sex characteristics do not require medical treatments for
their immediate physical health. Nevertheless, many intersex youth are
subjected to non-emergent medical procedures, including sterilization,
to make them fit into restrictive male-female binary categories. These
non emergent medical procedures are classified as human rights
violations by the United Nations.

This bill aims to respond to these harms and bring attention to the
natural existence of people born with intersex traits and the risks
associated with non-emergent medical procedures often recommended for
and performed on them. It encourages the Department of Health to conduct
public outreach campaigns to inform parents and the medical establish-
ment about the nonemergent nature and implications of such procedures.

These procedures include infant vaginoplasties, clitoral reductions and
recessions, procedures to relocate a functioning urethra, and removal of
gonadal tissues, which continue to this day in New York State, even
though such procedures may result in lasting harm and have been deemed
human rights violations by multiple international agencies.

These procedures are most often performed before a child reaches the age
of two, despite no urgent medical considerations that would require
immediacy in the majority of cases, meaning the individual is needlessly
subjected to irreversible procedures they have not requested and that
cause harm in many cases. There is evidence these procedures can cause
severe physiological and psychological harm, especially when performed
without the express and informed request of the individual. These harms,
which often last a lifetime, may include scarring, chronic pain, urinary
incontinence, sterilization, loss of future sexual sensation and func-
tion, recurring complications requiring repeated follow-up procedures,
depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidality, and incorrect
gender assignment.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate