Lacking the votes to pass his bill banning medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children out of committee, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced January 4 he was once again shelving the bill. Since 2019, Wiener has tried to get a legislative ban passed by his colleagues to no avail. Wiener had resubmitted his legislation Senate Bill 225, known as the Bodily Autonomy, Dignity and Choice Act, last January with the hope of moving it out of the Legislature this session. He had worked with intersex advocates and LGBTQ rights groups to revise it from previous versions, such as indicating a precise age for when such surgeries could be performed.
Thus, the latest version of SB 225 would have required parents and doctors to postpone elective surgery on intersex children until they are 12 years of age and can take part in making such a medical decision. Yet the powerful California Medical Association and some parents continued to lobby against the bill.