Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago said it will no longer perform cosmetic surgeries on intersex infants unless it is medically necessary.
For years activists have called on hospitals to ban irreversible cosmetic gential surgery on intersex infants, arguing it denies individauls the legal right to consent to the procedure.
In a July 28 statement signed by Lurie Children's President and CEO Thomas Shanley, MD, and three chief physicians, the hospital said, "We recognize the painful history and complex emotions associated with intersex surgery and how, for many years, the medical field has failed these children."
Hospital leaders said they would evolve their policies going forward and wouldn't perform cosmetic genitial surgeries on children unless they are medically required or a patient willfully consents.
"Historically, care for individuals with intersex traits included an emphasis on early genital surgery to make genitalia appear more typically male or female. As the medical field has advanced, and understanding has grown, we now know this approach was harmful and wrong."