Disability rights

by Gary C. Norman, Esq. L.L.M. Mr. Norman, an attorney partnered with a guide dog, is an Associate Civil Rights Commissioner. He is the Co-founder and Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Lyceum, a new non-profit whose purpose is, while fostering, developing, and including, disabled leaders, bringing diverse perspectives (the left and the right) together to inform a better society. These views are solely of the author.

The founding documents of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution do arguably espouse, whether in explicit or implicit terms, the notion that, farmers and pharmacologists, instead of useless kings and nobles, ought to be empowered to self-rule.  President Obama sagaciously reminded citizens in his inaugural words: that the principles of the founding documents are timeless and universal; however, they are not self-executing.  To encapsulate the sentiments of President Madison, governments are necessary because humanity is far from being angelic in its pursuits.  As an example, the United States Senate did not ratify last December an international disability rights instrument. As such, collective action, including by leaders with disabilities such as this author, is required to advance broad civil rights, such as are contained in or should be contained in the foundational documents.

By Julie A. Greenberg, a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

The term "intersex" evokes diverse images, typically of people who are both male and female or neither male nor female. Neither vision is accurate. The millions of people with an intersex condition, or a DSD (difference of sex development), are men and women whose sex chromosomes, gonads, or sex anatomy do not fit clearly into the male/female binary norm. Until recently, intersex conditions were shrouded in shame and secrecy; many adults were unaware that they had been born with an intersex condition and those who did know were advised to hide the truth. Current medical protocols and societal treatment of people with a DSD are based on false stereotypes about sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability, which create unique challenges to framing effective legal claims and building a strong cohesive movement. (For some of my earlier work on this topic, see http://ssrn.com/author=252410.)

Intersexuality and the Law: Why Sex Matters examines the role that legal institutions can play in protecting the rights of people with a DSD. The first part of the book explains the sex, gender, and disability assumptions underlying the current medical protocol for the treatment of infants born with an intersex condition. Although most intersex conditions are not disabling, pose no physical risk, and require no medical intervention, infants with these conditions often are subjected to invasive cosmetic surgeries to alter their genitalia so that their bodies conform to a binary sex norm. These surgeries provide no medical benefit and have not been proven to enhance the child’s psychological well-being, but they can lead to a number of problems. They can render women incapable of experiencing an orgasm. They may also result in infection, scarring, incontinence, and other severe physical complications and emotional trauma.

The major goal of the intersex movement is to challenge these medical practices. In addition, the intersex movement is also concerned that people with an intersex condition whose gender identity does not match the sex assigned to them at birth will face the same legal obstacles confronting transgender people. Sometimes, government authorities refuse to recognize their self-identified gender as their legal sex for purposes of marriage, identity documents, and appropriate housing and restroom use.