Exciting New Paper: “Should surgery for hypospadias be performed before an age of consent?” – Journal of Sex Research, Oct 2015

An unheard-of new paper on the ethics of “masculinising” non-consensual, unnecessary “hypospadias repair” surgery on children with variations of sex anatomy has been accepted for publication by the “Journal of Sex Research” and is now in press: >>> Adrienne Carmack, Lauren Notini, and Brian D. Earp: “Should surgery for hypospadias be performed before an age of consent?” (via academia.edu).

The paper was inspired by a presentation by Markus Bauer (StopIGM.org) at the “Genital Autonomy 2014” symposium in Boulder, Co. on the topic of IGM Practices, which as per usual covered “hypospadias repair” as the most common IGM Practice, therefore also known as “IGM Type 1”. (See picture: Markus Bauer and Adrienne Carmack at “Genital Autonomy 2014” – Photo thanks to Brother K.)

Adrienne Carmack has also an interesting entry on the paper and subject with additional background info on her blog: >>> “An Ethical Approach to Hypospadias.”

The paper addresses some crucial facts about “hypospadias repair” usually conveniently omitted in medical publications by the perpetrators, including the lack of medical necessity, the substantial risk of loss of sexual sensation post surgery, and the often terrible complications (WARNING!!!):

Abstract
Hypospadias is a relatively common genital condition in which the urethral opening forms on the underside of the penis, as opposed to at the tip of the glans. Patients with hypospadias are typically referred for surgery during infancy or early childhood. Recent evidence, however, indicates that many individuals with hypospadias do not experience the functional or psychosocial difficulties that are commonly attributed to the condition, and that surgical intervention for hypospadias carries substantial risk of adverse outcomes. In this article, we review published outcomes data and conduct an in-depth analysis of the typical rationales for hypospadias surgery, taking into consideration both the potential benefits and harms of the procedure, as well as the existence of non-surgical alternatives. We argue, firstly, that most childhood surgeries for hypospadias are performed for anticipated future problems concerning function and cosmesis, rather than extant problems that serve to undermine the child’s well- being. Secondly, we contend that the surgery can be safely performed after an age of consent without increasing the absolute risk of surgical complications to an ethically meaningful degree. We conclude that surgery for hypospadias should typically be performed only if requested by the affected individual, under conditions of informed consent.

Thanks to everyone who made this possible!

>>> VIDEO: Tiger Devore talks IGM Type 1: ‘Hypospadias Repair” – Part 1/4 
>>> Open Letter to ‘6th I$HID Hypospadias Live Surgery Workshop’ + affiliated Clinics
>>> Intersex Protests + Info: ‘6th I$HID Hypospadias Live Surgery Workshop 2015’

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