On Monday, March 4, Rep. Liz Bennett introduced HF 576 in the Iowa Legislature, a bill that would ban medically unnecessary surgeries for intersex minors. It is the first bill on this topic ever introduced in the Iowa Legislature.

“Intersex people exhibit biological and anatomical diversity which might include ambiguous genitalia, having traits of both male and female reproductive organs, possessing a chromosomal variance other than XY or XX, having hormone levels that are not considered average, or other biological factors which don’t easily fit into socially constructed “male” or “female” boxes,” according to a PDF of the Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success.

Intersex conditions are fairly common with about two percent of the human population identifying as intersex, about the same amount of the human population who have red hair according to Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy for One Iowa.

The response by doctors upon the birth of an intersex person is often to carry out largely unregulated and controversial surgeries that aim to make an infant’s genitals and reproductive organs more “normal” but can often have unintended consequences, according to intersex adults, advocates and some doctors.

A long list of damaging side effects including painful scarring, reduced sexual sensitivity, torn genital tissue, removal of natural hormones and possible sterilization combined with the chance of assigning children a gender they don’t feel comfortable with has left many calling for the surgeries to be heavily restricted.

HF 576 says “Medically necessary” means that the treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor is reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury and cannot be safely deferred. A “medically necessary” treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor includes but is not limited to a procedure to repair the bladder, cloacal exstrophy, or any other procedure intended to allow urine to exit the body absent a urethral opening.

HF 576 clarifies that any treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor that is not medically necessary cannot be performed until the minor can provide informed consent. HF 576 requires the physician to provide both written and oral disclosure of the treatment or intervention in non-technical age-appropriate terms and then ask for written consent from the minor with which the bill has provided a template.

In the case of a medically necessary treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor, HF 576 states that a parent or guardian may give consent in place of the minor.

“The Iowa Legislature has the power to stop this practice in our state, and we urge Iowans to encourage their legislators to support HF 576,” said Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel, executive director of One Iowa. “Iowa has a legacy of leading the nation on equality, and we could continue that legacy by becoming the first state to ban these unnecessary and harmful surgeries.”

nicci port, project director for diversity and inclusion and LGBTQ+ initiatives, said that for a intersex minor if it’s not medically necessary for their anatomy to be altered, then it shouldn’t be unless there is informed consent given.

“I really felt strongly that we should start the conversation about protecting intersex individuals from unwanted surgery,” said Rep. Bennett. “They should have a say in what happens to their body.”