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THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT — Seven years later, the intersex child now identifies as a male.

The child was unwanted by his mother following his birth resulting in his ending up in the hands of the South Carolina Department of Social Services. At 16 months, for whatever reason, the state decided the child was a girl and had his penis surgically removed as they looked for a permanent home for him.

Today, the boy, known as “M.C.”, is the son of Mark and Pam Crawford, who eventually adopted him. They, along with support from Southern Poverty Law Center, are suing the state and some of the doctors for this mutilation of their son arguing was a needless surgery done only because the state didn’t accept that idea the child could exist as not belonging to one of two “fixed” genders.

Pam Crawford: “By performing this needless surgery, the state and doctors told M.C. that he was not acceptable or lovable the way he was born. They disfigured him because they could not accept him for who he was – not because he needed any surgery. . . .”

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There are a number of major blunders here IMO — the first one, of course, is not waiting until the child self-identifies before doing irreversible surgery. There was no health risk by waiting.

While the report didn’t say, I’ve a hunch that Christian right thinking — moralists — influenced the decision-making in that particular group of people. This lawsuit, regardless of the outcome, will go a long way in making doctors think twice about being influenced by state officials who may not have the child’s best interest as a higher priority.

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Previous intersex article on moralists: https://lexiecannes.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/radio-icon-sheena-metal-poses-dilemma-for-anti-trangender-moralists/

On being intersex: https://lexiecannes.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/transgender-feelings-explained-following-mans-er-visit/

More on the SC case: First Do No Harm – South Carolina Guesses Wrong, Removes Baby Boy’s Penis | The New Civil Rights Movement.

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SUPPORT TRANS ADVOCACY by getting a DVD of the award-winning trans-themed feature film Lexie Cannes: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963781332 Or via PayPal: http://www.lexiecannes.com/id13.html

THE GUERRILLA ANGEL REPORT is associated with Wipe Out Transphobia: http://www.wipeouttransphobia.com/

Read Lexie Cannes in The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/courtney-odonnell/

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Categories: Judicial, Courts, Transgender, Transsexual, Trans