Article 9 of the Declaration reaffirms the need for the protection of the rights of the child. Citing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Declaration provides that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in all legislation concerning children:
States should recognize that medical interventions aimed at the ‘gender reassignment’ of children by the use of puberty supressing drugs, cross-sex hormones and surgery do not serve the best interests of children. Children are not developmentally competent to give full, free and informed consent to such medical interventions, which carry a high risk of long-term adverse consequences to the physical and psychological health of the child, and which may result in permanent adverse consequences, such as sterility. States should prohibit the use of such medical interventions upon children.
WDI USA has developed a model bill to prohibit procedures intended to disguise the sex of children. We believe it would accomplish the intended purpose of safeguarding children against these harmful practices, while also being consistent with the sex-based rights of women to be free of harmful sex-role stereotypes. WDI USA would strongly support such bills.
Our letter with talking points and the model bill are available for download below.
On the whole this issue an excellent bill. I would add language about the vulnerability of lesbian and gay or same sex attracted teenagers to these procedures. Also, “social” procedures to disguise sex needs to be defined. I wouldn’t want to outlaw a girl cutting her hair short and dungarees, or a boy putting on a dress or having long hair. With sex based dress and grooming codes enforced in our society, any gender nonconformity can be considered “social” disguising of one’s sex.