Intersex bodily autonomy refers to the fundamental human right of individuals born with variations in sex characteristics to make their own decisions about their bodies. The issue is a central focus of human rights advocacy, primarily due to the historic and ongoing practice of performing medically unnecessary, irreversible surgeries on intersex infants and children without their consent.
In early 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services published a report on Advancing Health Equity for Intersex Individuals. The report provides recommendations for improving approaches to intersex health, highlighting the harms of medically unnecessary surgeries performed on babies and young children with intersex traits—also referred to as variations of sex characteristics—and the health and social inequalities faced by intersex adults.
