Bill banning unneeded surgery on intersex children sparks debate at the state Capitol [View all]

Sarah Kosheff was born with some of the physical traits of a female but also XY chromosomes and internal testes instead of ovaries.

At age 10, the Bridgeport resident underwent surgery to remove the testes, which doctors deemed “excess tissue.''

Six years later, Kosheff attended a conference for intersex people and met others who had been subjected to non-consensual surgeries to remove organs or reconstruct their genitalia. “Even in this modern day and age, hospitals perform unnecessary surgeries on babies and children to 'normalize’ their bodies in the eyes of society. But we are not the abnormal ones. We are not broken for being made a little bit different.”

Intersex is a broad term that encompasses a range of variations affecting the sex chromosomes, external genitalia or internal reproductive organs. About one in 2,000 babies are born with reproductive or sexual anatomy and/or a chromosome pattern that doesn’t fit binary definitions of male or female, according to interACT, an advocacy group for intersex youth.

Read more: https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-intersex-legislation-20190305-rion7jbaxjbolmnmabb3h3higi-story.html