By Dr. Kirsten Viola Harrison*
LA JOLLA, California 11 June 2025 (IDN) — In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a landmark report recognizing the rights of intersex individuals-those born with biological characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female.
For a brief moment, there was hope. Hope that the U.S. was finally ready to acknowledge the pain and injustice inflicted on generations of intersex people. Hope that medically unnecessary and irreversible surgeries performed on children without their consent would end. But now, under new political leadership, that hope is under siege.
Intersex people have long been subjected to harmful surgeries aimed at “normalizing” their bodies, often without informed consent and at an age when they cannot speak for themselves. These procedures, ranging from genital surgery to hormone interventions, are not only unnecessary, but deeply traumatic.
They rob individuals of their right to bodily autonomy, often resulting in lifelong psychological and physical harm.
The 2025 HHS report offered a beacon of change by acknowledging these truths, validating the lived experiences of intersex people, and outlining a path toward civil rights rooted in dignity and informed choice.
Yet just months later, the same government that uplifted those voices is falling silent — or worse, complicit. Under the Trump administration, the tide has turned toward enforcing binary definitions of sex and gender. Conservative lawmakers, particularly in Republican-led states, have introduced bills that simultaneously restrict gender-affirming care for trans youth while allowing irreversible surgeries on intersex infants. This contradiction is not just policy failure; it is moral hypocrisy.
If surgery on minors is truly the concern, why is it condemned for trans children seeking gender-affirming treatment but condoned for intersex children who are too young to consent?
The answer lies in control, not care. These policies prioritize societal comfort over individual truth, conformity over compassion. They are based on fear, not facts. And fear, weaponized through legislation, becomes a tool of erasure.
The most powerful arguments against these practices come from those who have lived them.
Sean/a Smith, an intersex woman born with ambiguous genitalia, eloquently explains: “When an individual is forced to deny an aspect of his/her fundamental being due to society’s ignorance, coupled with the betrayal of one’s bodily integrity from possibly well-meaning parents and doctors, it takes away a person’s right to be who they are.”
Her words are not just testimony; they are a moral compass. They call us to remember that the bodies of intersex children are not public battlegrounds for ideological wars. They are sacred, personal, and deserving of respect.
We cannot continue to allow outdated medical practices and binary thinking to dictate the futures of those born outside society’s narrow definitions. To do so is to participate in a form of structural violence — one that leaves scars far deeper than the operating room. Human rights are not conditional upon conformity. They are inalienable.
What makes the current political climate even more disturbing is the inherent contradiction it upholds. Legislators claim to protect children from medical intervention, yet permit irreversible procedures on intersex babies.
They deny trans teens the right to affirm their identity, while forcing intersex children into one they did not choose. This is not protection; it is persecution. A true child-centered policy would prioritize delay until the child is old enough to participate in decisions about their body and identity.
We must move beyond the double standard.
If medical necessity is the concern, then let that principle apply equally. If bodily autonomy is a right, then let it be honored for all. To cherry-pick whose bodies deserve protection is to endorse discrimination. And to use faith, tradition, or ideology as justification for such injustice is to pervert the very values those beliefs claim to uphold.
There is no “fixing” intersex. There is only the opportunity to embrace the beauty and diversity of human biology — to allow people the dignity to define themselves, on their own terms, and in their own time.
“As hard and confusing as my life has been, I love the idea of being uniquely of God’s design,” Sean/a says. “I don’t feel it is anyone’s right to take that away from me. This wasn’t a choice. Fortunately, my parents left me as I am and I know these are tough decisions. But if it wasn’t my choice to be born as I am, then it also shouldn’t be anyone else’s choice to modify my anatomy.”
As advocates, citizens, and human beings, we are called to act. Speak out. Educate. Legislate. And above all, listen to the voices of those who have been silenced for too long.
We are not powerless. Every bill introduced, every protest attended, every article written, is a brick laid on the path toward justice. But it starts with one truth: no one — not a doctor, not a politician, not even a parent — should decide the fate of a child’s body without their consent.
Stop the surgeries. Start the healing.
*Dr. Kirsten Viola Harrison is a trauma psychologist, spiritual integration expert, and founder of Soul Wise Solutions. For over 25 years, she has helped individuals navigate profound psychological and spiritual transitions — including those living with complex PTSD (C-PTSD), dissociative identity disorder, schizophrenia, and near-death experiences. Her integrative approach blends clinical expertise with compassionate soul work to support true, lasting healing.
She is the co-author of “I, Sean/a: The Story of a Homeless Intersex Woman Who Inspired a Community,” the true account of Sean/a Smith, an intersex woman with schizophrenia whose life defies stigma and inspires change. Together, they advocate for an end to outdated medical practices and a future rooted in dignity and inclusion. Whether she’s speaking, writing, or working with clients, Dr. Harrison brings insight, depth, and humanity to conversations about trauma, identity, and transformation.
Learn more at soulwisesolutions. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Image source: soulwisesolutions.com/book
