Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR815 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. RES. 815
5	5	Expressing support for the recognition of October 26, 2023, as ‘‘Intersex
6	6	Awareness Day’’, and supporting the goals and ideals of Intersex Aware-
7	7	ness Day.
8	8	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9	9	OCTOBER26, 2023
10	10	Ms. B
11	11	ALINT(for herself, Mr. POCAN, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. DA-
12	12	VIDSof Kansas, Mr. ROBERTGARCIAof California, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms.
13	13	J
14	14	ACOBS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. LEEof Pennsylvania, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. NOR-
15	15	TON, Mr. PETERS, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr.
16	16	T
17	17	ORRESof New York, Mrs. WATSONCOLEMAN, and Mr. FROST) sub-
18	18	mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
19	19	Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education
20	20	and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
21	21	Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
22	22	the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
23	23	RESOLUTION
24	24	Expressing support for the recognition of October 26, 2023,
25	25	as ‘‘Intersex Awareness Day’’, and supporting the goals
26	26	and ideals of Intersex Awareness Day.
27	27	Whereas Intersex Awareness Day honors the first public dem-
28	28	onstration by intersex people in the United States, which
29	29	took place at the annual conference of the American
30	30	Academy of Pediatrics on October 26, 1996;
31	31	Whereas, since that historic demonstration in 1996, October
32	32	26 has become a day during which intersex people and
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35	35	•HRES 815 IH
36	36	allies come together to celebrate and uplift the intersex
37	37	community;
38	38	Whereas ‘‘intersex’’ refers to individuals with innate vari-
39	39	ations in their physical sex characteristics, including ex-
40	40	ternal anatomy, reproductive organs, hormonal function,
41	41	and/or chromosomal patterns;
42	42	Whereas the most widely cited estimate of the frequency of
43	43	intersex traits in the population is 1.7 percent, yet the
44	44	true prevalence is likely higher;
45	45	Whereas health equity for intersex people is undermined by
46	46	patterns of stigmatization and discrimination on the basis
47	47	of variations in sex characteristics, intersex status, and
48	48	perceived gender nonconformity;
49	49	Whereas babies and children with variations in their sex char-
50	50	acteristics are often subjected, without their own in-
51	51	formed consent or assent, to irreversible surgeries and
52	52	other interventions to make their bodies conform to
53	53	stereotypical expectations of what it means to appear, be-
54	54	have as, or be male or female;
55	55	Whereas instances in which variations in sex characteristics
56	56	necessitate surgery on an urgent basis in infancy or early
57	57	childhood are exceedingly rare, and decisions about such
58	58	surgeries could therefore be safely postponed in the vast
59	59	majority of cases until such time as an indication of med-
60	60	ical necessity may arise;
61	61	Whereas there is evidence that performing these irreversible
62	62	surgeries in the absence of individual consent can result
63	63	in severe lasting physical and psychological harm includ-
64	64	ing loss of bodily function, the destruction of reproductive
65	65	capacity, and the imposition of a sex assignment with
66	66	which the individual will not identify;
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69	69	•HRES 815 IH
70	70	Whereas three former Surgeons General of the United States
71	71	have agreed that early, nonconsensual surgeries on
72	72	intersex children can cause ‘‘severe and irreversible phys-
73	73	ical harm and emotional distress’’ and ‘‘violate an indi-
74	74	vidual’s right to personal autonomy over their own fu-
75	75	ture’’, ‘‘clearly infring[ing] on the child’s right to physical
76	76	integrity, preservation of sexual and gender identity, and
77	77	procreative freedom’’;
78	78	Whereas the Department of State has commemorated
79	79	Intersex Awareness Day by recognizing the harm of these
80	80	surgeries, stating that ‘‘at a young age, intersex persons
81	81	routinely face forced medical surgeries without free or in-
82	82	formed consent. These interventions jeopardize their
83	83	physical integrity and ability to live freely’’;
84	84	Whereas the American Academy of Family Physicians
85	85	(AAFP) ‘‘opposes medically-unnecessary genital surgeries
86	86	performed on intersex children’’ and states that ‘‘Genital
87	87	surgeries should only be recommended as medically nec-
88	88	essary for intersex infants and children for the purpose
89	89	of resolving significant functional impairment or reducing
90	90	imminent and substantial risk of developing a health- or
91	91	life-threatening condition’’;
92	92	Whereas the World Professional Association for Transgender
93	93	Health, in its Standards of Care Version 8, recommends
94	94	that providers treating intersex children delay ‘‘genital
95	95	surgery, gonadal surgery, or both, so as to optimize the
96	96	children’s self-determination and ability to participate in
97	97	the decision based on informed consent.’’;
98	98	Whereas the American Bar Association in a 2023 resolution
99	99	took a position ‘‘Oppos[ing] all . . . policy that attempts
100	100	to impose medical or surgical intervention on minors with
101	101	intersex traits (also known as variations in sex character-
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104	104	•HRES 815 IH
105	105	istics) without the minor’s informed consent or assent,
106	106	and urg[ing] licensed professionals not to conduct or pro-
107	107	pose medical or surgical intervention on minors with
108	108	intersex traits until the minor requests the proposed care,
109	109	understands the impact of the proposed care as well as
110	110	alternatives, is provided with affirming psychosocial sup-
111	111	ports, and gives informed consent or assent, except when
112	112	immediate life-threatening circumstances require emer-
113	113	gency intervention’’;
114	114	Whereas medical practices should respect the human rights
115	115	and bodily autonomy of all people, and government insti-
116	116	tutions should implement policies that protect and sup-
117	117	port intersex people;
118	118	Whereas the Presidential Memorandum of February 4, 2021,
119	119	on ‘‘Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-
120	120	sexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons
121	121	Around the World’’ makes it ‘‘the policy of the United
122	122	States to pursue an end to violence and discrimination on
123	123	the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expres-
124	124	sion, or sex characteristics’’;
125	125	Whereas President Biden convened the first White House
126	126	Roundtable on intersex issues on October 26, 2021, in
127	127	celebration of Intersex Awareness Day, declaring that the
128	128	Administration ‘‘is committed to advancing justice, op-
129	129	portunity, and safety for intersex Americans’’;
130	130	Whereas Executive Order 14075 of June 15, 2022, states
131	131	that it is the policy of the United States Government ‘‘to
132	132	combat unlawful discrimination and eliminate disparities’’
133	133	affecting ‘‘lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and
134	134	intersex (LGBTQI+) Americans,’’ including discrimina-
135	135	tion on the basis of sex characteristics, and directs Fed-
136	136	eral agencies to ‘‘advance the responsible and effective
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139	139	•HRES 815 IH
140	140	collection and use of data on sexual orientation, gender
141	141	identity, and sex characteristics’’;
142	142	Whereas the House of Representatives has voted twice to ex-
143	143	plicitly codify nondiscrimination protections for people
144	144	with intersex variations in its passage of the Equality
145	145	Act, and various Federal agencies, including the Depart-
146	146	ment of Justice, have recognized that, consistent with the
147	147	legal reasoning of Bostock v. Clayton County, discrimina-
148	148	tion on the basis of a person’s sex characteristics is pro-
149	149	hibited sex discrimination; and
150	150	Whereas intersex people are an important part of the diver-
151	151	sity of our Nation to be celebrated and should be af-
152	152	forded respect, dignity, and the universal human right to
153	153	bodily autonomy: Now, therefore, be it
154	154	Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
155	155	(1) supports the goals and ideals of Intersex 2
156	156	Awareness Day; 3
157	157	(2) encourages the Federal Government, States, 4
158	158	localities, nonprofit organizations, schools, and com-5
159	159	munity organizations to observe the day with appro-6
160	160	priate programs and activities, with the goal of in-7
161	161	creasing public knowledge of the intersex community 8
162	162	and empowering individuals to celebrate and respect 9
163	163	their diversity; 10
164	164	(3) encourages health care providers to offer 11
165	165	culturally and clinically competent care to the 12
166	166	intersex community, and schools to support edu-13
167	167	cation regarding the intersex community, and con-14
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170	170	•HRES 815 IH
171	171	nect individuals to resources for young people with 1
172	172	intersex variations and their families; and 2
173	173	(4) encourages the Federal Government, States, 3
174	174	international funding organizations, and United 4
175	175	States bilateral and multilateral aid efforts to 5
176	176	prioritize the health and human rights of intersex 6
177	177	people. 7
178	178	Æ
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