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GERMANY HAS BECOME the first European country to allow babies born with characteristics of both sexes to be registered as neither male nor female, but advocates have called for broader reforms.
Under the new legislation, the entry for gender can be left blank on birth certificates, effectively creating a category for indeterminate sex in the public register.
But activists promoting the rights of intersex people said they hoped the creation of a third gender option would open the door to broader changes limiting genital surgery on newborns with both male and female characteristics.
“It’s a first, important step in the right direction,” said Lucie Veith, an intersex person from the northern German city of Hamburg.
But Veith said leaving the gender undefined on birth certificates was never the main lobbying point for her group, the German chapter of the Association of Intersexed People, or others in the intersex community.
“That we forbid cosmetic genital surgeries for newborns, that is our first demand,” Veith said.
The German law is intended to remove pressure on parents to quickly make a decision about controversial sex assignment surgeries for newborns, but many advocates say it does not go far enough.
“The surgeries are likely to continue in Germany,” said Silvan Agius, policy director at ILGA Europe, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex rights group.
“Parents can already refuse these surgeries,” Agius added.
“You can already say, ‘No, thank you very much, I don’t want any surgery until my child can choose his or her gender.’”
Operations on intersex babies and infants in many European countries take place without adequate informed consent by the patients, according to a 2012 European Commission report on the topic.
The report also found that many adults born intersex are angry these surgeries were performed without their consent.
Without consent
Experts estimate one in 1,500 to 2,000 births result in a baby of indeterminate gender or both male and female gender features.
The Council of Europe for the first time last month addressed the issue in a parliamentary assembly resolution calling on member states to study the prevalence of “non-medically justified operations” that may harm children and take steps to “ensure that no-one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment that is cosmetic rather than vital for health during infancy or childhood”.
Agius and other advocates worry that the new German law creates a de facto third gender category legally, but does nothing to change a society that operates largely on a genderbinary with facilities such as separate male and female public toilets.
“There could be many other laws that could follow it and make it implementable and good,” Agius said. “My point is that if it remains as is… then it’s greatly deficient.”
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Why are people against this? Its if a baby is born with both male and female reproduction systems the gender is left open until the child is older and knows which gender they want to be..
Because for a lot of people the world is (or to be precise has to be) black or white.
So the rest of the time you choose to be female Shane? Maybe you like been taken care of yourself.
Interesting, I never knew this issue existed before. Seems like the right approach to take.
I think its a step in the right direction.
@ Karla please explain the reason why you think it’s a step in the right direction?
@Robert please explain why it is so important for gender to be known/specified/decided in any form.
The baby has both male and female parts it’s not up to the parents if they want a boy or a girl. I’ve read of a few cases where parents have decided they wanted the child to be of a certain sex and when said child was older identified with the opposite sex and was left infertile.
Jaysus. Emilio is freaking out.
It is one minute til 4pm on a Friday. I’m ecstatic. I’m going home.
Pardon my ignorance, but how can this happen? Can a single sperm carry both an X & Y chromosome or is it due to a mutation in the ovum or what?
Yes, you are an ignorant. Keep enlightening us about your ignorance.
It’s a simple question Emilio, if you can’t answer it then you are no less ignorant than I – tad more arrogant judging by your post though.
It is a simple question which you can answer yourself with ONE google search. To be ignorant is one thing, to be WILLINGLY ignorant, like YOU are, in this day and age, is certainly almost a crime.
Willfully ignorant, not willingly ignorant. “You are an ignorant” is also incorrect, one can be ignorant, or can be an ignoramus. Pardon my ignorance again, but what is that phrase about people in glass houses?
So you go and attack my language skills? I hope your Spanish is half as good as my English, capullo.
There are criteria other than chromosomes which can define gender.
Lads calm down. It’s Friday.
Emilio: and you can correct your grammatical errors with ONE Google search. But it looks like your are willfully ignorant to that course of action…..
Saw a chap fill out a form. On it, it said Sex, he answered Yes
When I was young there was only 2 genders, Male & Female. But in this modern age there are many more. Here is the full list I think unless you know of more:
Male, Female, Airmail, Webmail, email and voicemail!
You should really educate yourself so. This is a real genetic condition and isn’t new. Your trying to be funny but your only highlighting your own ignorance.
Jaysus an innocent joke
If you can’t laugh you got nothing
“this is a real genetic condition” laughter is a real human emotion but the progressive liberals have the stage at the minute so keep it to a giggle lads
Adults campaigning to prevent children being given the appropriate treatment to correct an abnormality. Disgusting.
More Politically Correct Lunatic Left nonsense. You are Male or Female, end of story. If nature intended a third sex, roughly one third of the population would be this “third” gender.
Really? Tell that to, for example, Klinefelter Syndrome individuals.
Kris and Marcello, did you read the article? Some babies are born with both sexual characteristics. Would you be confident deciding which sex they should be?
They will identify as male or female as they grow older, so why not wait and let them make the decision on surgery themselves?
Hammy, considering that they refer to intersex as ‘an abnormality’, and that they think this legislation comes from political correctness… No, they obviously haven’t read the article. Like I’ve said somewhere else, you are asking for too much.
For the love of god, did ANYONE read the flipping article?
So is this to protect hermaphrodites or is it about a person choosing their gender later on?
What makes you think they can read?
Kris’s logic is impeccable. Let’s say for a moment there are 4 eye colours (there are more but let’s pretend). Does exactly a quarter of the population have each eye colour? No. Are all the eye colours “natural”? Probably…
What is with this obsession with “nature”? “nature” is so often defined by subjective individuals. How about we all stop caring what’s natural or not and start treating other human beings with respect and dignity.
This is absolutley crazy
Why?
The LGBT community cant pretend were not of different sexes, you might aswell say youre not human aswell if yoy dont have a sex which defines you as human
Hugh, question, why do you even care? Suggestion, go on living your life and let other people call themselves whatever the hell they want, it won’t change or alter your life in any way.
Point is not to allow for both genders to be present in a human (which is an abnormality) but to wait and see which gender is a “true” one before make an irreverseable desicion. Can’t see anything wrong of being on the side of caution.
Think the one thing we’ve all learned here is that Emilio needs to use birth control when he has an auld allied irish!
Too late.
However there are naming guidelines in Germany which are rigorously enforced so if you want to give a gender neutral name you need to give a gender appropriate 2nd name eg Robin Mary…
I don’t think issue should be allowed to be hijacked by the LGB community,their is no connection.
There
The sexual minorities have joined forces as they see common cause, or at least common direction in their respective causes, so it doesn’t matter whether or not you approve. Any excuse to bash the gays. Martin, you’re pathetic.
I’m going to have to consult the bible about this. Bare with me now….
The claws are out today! In relation to the article (which I read first) I think its a good idea, but I would be concerned that it might leave the child very confused, and open to bullying.
Exactly. Would teachers have to send the child to the lonely he/she changing rooms?
Down with this sort of thing…. Careful now!
How many babies are born with these problems,what are the statistics?
Read the article. One baby in every 1500-2000.
Read the article!? Oh no! You are asking too much!
This is fantastic. Life isn’t binary. This is a great video explaining something about intersex individuals. http://youtu.be/MJ-GNZ5QA4Q
So the child could have a vagina and a body hormone which produces hairy legs and chest like a man? No?
I shifted her years ago in Ballaghaderreen. I was 15, she was 18. At that age and time a shift was still a shift.
Hahaha! (It deserved more than LOL)
Testosterone is present in both men and women, but both have different levels.
Let’s hope they’ve been to Specsavers before making any drastic decisions.
The only flaw I can find with this is what do you do as parent for the 18 years between signing the birth cert and the child deciding which sex they comfortable with. Pink/blue clothes, barbie or action man, football or ballet. It’s almost like a child with no identity and that’s not right either.
Children gravitate towards their own sexual identity naturally. It doesn’t matter what toys they have played with growing up. I haven’t heard of a gay man blaming his parents for letting him play with his sisters Barbie doll. To have a childs sexual identity determined at birth when it is not clear what that identity is, is wrong. Time will tell the story and time should be given. It is a hard situation for parents, they were expecting a baby boy or a baby girl and now they have a baby ?. But the parents have a responsibility to act as this baby’s advocate while grieving the loss of what they had hoped for, and the change in the law takes away some of the pressure on these parents to conform to a societal norm that is not in the best interests of the child.
Yellow, red, green, black, white, orange, brown clothes and the option of both barbies and action man (or neither, or whichever the child wants). I wore lots of colours and played with both boy and girl toys as a child, did me no harm.
I am aware of that carina and I’m not saying what toys they play with influence their sexuality, it’s about having an identity, parents may not have to make a legal choice or opt for surgery but in the real world, raising a child with no gender would be a mine field and potentially damaging to the the child. The only thing is id imagine the true gender would become apparent within the first 10 years, so at least at parents could start to know where is going from around that point. Still a very tough situation.
Perhaps having a clause on their birth cert that they can change it when they are older would be better, that way they can be raised with a legal gender they are not bound to.
Is guessing the child’s gender in the child’s best interests of does it just make others more comfortable? The child will eventually show their gender, what’s the rush?
School trousers or pinafore? Girls football team or boys? Like I said further up this is the only flaw I can find, how it would actually work in the real word, to live with. I have met someone with the condition so I have heard their plight first hand. I think it’s a great idea, if it works.
Poor kids having to deal with parents who are trying to turn them in to social experiments.
Guess who didn’t read the article first.!
Some muppet?
A fast forward to the comments on this one hahaha well said people. Hermaphroditism rules lol
Disregard my last comment, I never read the artricle
Most commenters here haven’t read the article or bothered to inform themselves, so no need to apologise, you are in great company, if not good.
That’s no harm!
This is absolutely ridiculous. In a world where it’s difficult enough to find who you are what choice do those poor babies have as they grow up.
Emilio deja de molestar, vete a…. tu casa
Its amazing how much ignorance there is on this subject, how can anyone possibly think its ok to pick a gender for an intersex child and “correct” them to make them look like that gender? The child should be allowed to make their own choice and no doctors or parents should be allowed to change them.
I fall into the intersex category, I had surgeries when I was a baby to make me look normal, ( because you can’t have a baby that’s both a boy and a girl), I found out my parents had lied to me about this and I’m still very angry about it, I’ll never trust my parents or doctors again. It’s my right to choose my gender, not societies, not some doctor, and not my parents and it shouldn’t even be up for discussion.
I think some will be embarrassed by this think about what you are doing to these people
have your say