Hermaphroditism

[zunshynn]

What is the moral action for parents to take when their child is born with hermaphroditism (born with both female and male reproductive organs)?

[photosynthesis]

I'd say don't mess with it...if the child is born that way. I've read that sex change operations can cause emotional trauma when done so early in life.

[Laudate_Dominum]

I don't know that much about it, but I thought that in most cases the child is a boy with a deformity, or a girl with a deformity, and no sex change would be necessary. They can just surgically deal with the deformity.

I realize there are cases that are not this simple, but I thought in most cases it is something like this?

[Dreamweaver]

I've heard that many doctors recommend leaving the child as is until they reach puberty, and they can discover what sex they want to be or if they want an operation. I recall reading a sad story about a young boy who had a botched circumcision. His parents had him operated on and raised him as a girl. Even then, the child never really was a girl and prefered the more "rough and tumble" boys life.. Later, he found out the truth and started living as a guy. He then committed suicide.

[cmotherofpirl]

The question is whether the surgury is necessary, and who sets the standards for what is normal?

[Laudate_Dominum]

I think the trauma of having a deformity removed would be less than having to go through life as a she-man.

And the standard of normal was set by God when He created us male and female. This is perhaps a bit simplistic, but I imagine chromosomes would tell us something about the sexuality of the person, even if they were born with hermaphroditic features..

And from what I've heard, hermaphrodites develop psychologically to identify with one sex or another, typically in keeping with the dominant biological sex.

I really don't know much about it, but my common sense is telling me that the best thing for such persons would almost always been corrective surgery or something.

If a baby was born with two noses we wouldn't be asking "who defines what is normal", we'd obviously opt for surgical correction. Hermaphroditism is a developmental defect, and it seems much better to correct the defect as soon as possible. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to go through childhood as a girl with a little "extra appendage", if you know what I mean. That's horrific.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='photosynthesis' date='Dec 13 2005, 01:18 AM']I'd say don't mess with it...if the child is born that way.  I've read that sex change operations can cause emotional trauma when done so early in life.
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It's not a sex change though.. Things that I recall reading (I have hardly done a study of the issue) suggest that there is no such thing as a half male half female, that's a myth. We are all male and female, but there are deformities and things. I believe the sex is already determined before the developmental defect occurs that causes hermaphroditism.

And again, my point about the trauma of going through childhood with such a severe deformity. I don't see this corrective surgery as necessarily being traumatic. If I had female parts despite my being a man, I would be quite ecstatic after the surgery I must say.

[MissScripture]

Why don't they just check the chromosomes? I mean, if it is an xy, then it's a boy, if it's a xx then it's a girl. Decide from there, because if it's an xy, that means that the baby has been exposed to high levels of testosterone already, and that is going to mean that the baby will probably develop psychologically as a boy.

[scardella]

[quote name='MissScripture' date='Dec 13 2005, 11:43 AM']Why don't they just check the chromosomes? I mean, if it is an xy, then it's a boy, if it's a xx then it's a girl. Decide from there, because if it's an xy, that means that the baby has been exposed to high levels of testosterone already, and that is going to mean that the baby will probably develop psychologically as a boy.
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Some have 3 chromosomes... like XXY.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='scardella' date='Dec 13 2005, 11:57 AM']Some have 3 chromosomes... like XXY.
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I hope no one has XXX that could really mess a person up.

[Socrates]

[quote name='Dreamweaver' date='Dec 13 2005, 08:06 AM']I've heard that many doctors recommend leaving the child as is until they reach puberty, and they can discover what sex they want to be or if they want an operation. I recall reading a sad story about a young boy who had a botched circumcision. His parents had him operated on and raised him as a girl. Even then, the child never really was a girl and prefered the more "rough and tumble" boys life.. Later, he found out the truth and started living as a guy. He then committed suicide. 
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That does not involve hermaphroditism. It was an accidental castration, which the doctors decided to "fix" by surgically "changing" him to a "girl."
It shows the foolishness of those who believe "gender" is malleable.

True hermaphroditism is extremely rare.

[Era Might]

[quote]Every human being is by nature a sexual being, and belongs from birth to one of the two sexes. This fact is not contradicted by the phenomenon of so-called hermaphroditism--any more than any other sickness or deformity militates against the fact that there is such a thing as human nature and that every human being, even the deformed or sick human being, has the same nature and is a human being precisely because of it. In the same way every human being is a sexual being, and membership of one of the two sexes means that a person's whole existence has a particular orientation which shows itself in his or her actual internal development.

--Pope John Paul II, "Love & Responsibility", pg. 47[/quote]

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Dec 13 2005, 06:25 PM']
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Babies can be born with both sets of organs, but as the Church rightly states the child will choose one orientation or another no matter what anatomy they start with. The problem can be with the doctors who feel the child must be surgically altered to fit a preconceived notion of normal.


This is from from Medline, and its the argument is this:
"The family of the infant needs to be informed of the child's condition as early as possible. It is a very sensitive time, requiring compassion and guidance to avoid feelings of guilt, shame, or discomfort.
Early assignment of the sex is important for the emotional well being of the person.[u] In large part, the decision is based on the corrective potential of the ambiguous genitalia, rather than on chromosomal determinants. [/u]The initial care should include a team of professionals that include neonatologists and pediatric specialists, endocrinologists, radiologists, urologists, psychologists, and geneticists.
All of these specialists will focus on what is in the best interest of the child and family. Once the decision is made regarding sex, parents should be left with no ambiguity in their minds as to the gender of the child.Corrective surgery is used to reconstruct the external genitalia. In general, it is easier to reconstruct female genitalia than male genitalia, and the ease of reconstruction will play a role in the determination of sex."
So what the child actually is is deemed less important than what is surgically easier to make the child. That is sad.

Many people however have a different view. They are against the idea that its more important to make the baby look normal than actually find out what the baby's sex actually is, and simply let the child alone. Many of these children who had surgery grow up feeling mutilated, and feel they should have been left alone.
There are many online discussions about this, the details of which are not appropriate posting on Phatmass."

[Era Might]

I agree that a child does not "choose" what sex they want to be. The sex must be determined, because gender goes beyond organs, as John Paul II notes.

Edited December 14, 2005 by Era Might

[cmotherofpirl]

ok choose is not the right word. How about the child will grow up either male or female as God intended.