K_Z
Verified Anesthetist
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In a first of its kind lawsuit, Greenville, S.C., residents Pam and Mark Crawford are suing the doctors who gave their adopted son sex assignment surgery while in foster care. MC, who had been deemed a female by doctors, had surgery at 16 months to correct his status as intersex (having both male and female genitalia), but is struggling with this assigned identity now at 10 years old. His parents are grieving that such a decision was made for him before he was able to make it himself.
BuzzFeed reports that after seeing the adorable photo of MC on an adoption website, the Crawfords knew they wanted to adopt him. Understanding the site featured many children with health problems, they decided to contact the South Carolina Department of Social Services to find out what was the matter with MC, who seemed in perfect health. It was then that they were alerted to the fact that he was born intersex; the agency detailed that MC was born with both a penis and vaginal opening, along with an undescended testicle on the left side of his body, and both ovarian and testicular tissue on the right side. Doctors reported MCs hormone levels were consistent with a male baby at his age.
As for MC, his case is slated to be carried out in November, but has left many talking about this formerly unfamiliar issue.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/pre...s-for-deciding-their-kid-is-a-girl/ar-BBlIUDA
The surgery this child underwent 10 years ago, while in the foster care system, was entirely within medical standards for care of these children at the time (approximately 2005). "Doing nothing" would likely not have been a realistic option, IMO, for many reasons. (Some of them medical-- depending on the child's particular anatomy.)
I think it's unfortunate the child identifies with the opposite sex than the one determined by the team of docs, but don't see where anything that was done medically for the child was inappropriate. I think the parent's lawsuit is profoundly inappropriate. They knew the child had had surgery before they adopted her. Remember-- the infant care this child received was 10 years ago.
What do posters think?