2295.
(a) Consistent with Senate Concurrent Resolution 110 of the 2017–18 Regular Session (Resolution Chapter 225 of the Statutes of 2018), the Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:(1) The Legislature opposes all forms of prejudice, bias, or discrimination and affirms its commitment to the dignity and autonomy of all people, including those born with variations in their physical sex characteristics.
(2) Intersex people are a part of the fabric of our state’s diversity to be celebrated, rather than an aberration to be corrected.
(3) Intersex people should be free to choose whether to undergo
life-altering surgeries and other treatments or interventions on their physical sexual characteristics that irreversibly, and sometimes irreparably, cause harm.
(4) The enactment of legislation is necessary to ensure the ability of intersex people to participate in decisions about surgery and other medical treatments or interventions on their physical sex characteristics.
(5) Intersex is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations. In some cases, intersex traits are visible at birth, while in others, they are not apparent until puberty. Some chromosomal intersex variations may not be physically apparent at all.
(b) The following
definitions apply for purposes of this section:
(1) “Intersex” means an individual born with sex characteristics, including genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns, that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies, including differences in sex development resulting from androgen insensitivity syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and hypospadias.
(2) (A) A treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor is “medically necessary” or a “medical necessity” when it is reasonable and necessary to protect life, to prevent significant illness or significant disability, or to alleviate severe pain.
(B) A medically necessary treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor includes, but is not limited to, a procedure to repair the
bladder or cloacal exstrophy, a gonadectomy to address a risk of cancer that is significantly elevated above the risk to the general population, a hypospadias repair, including chordee release, intended to alleviate severe pain, or a procedure intended to allow urine to exit the body absent a urethral opening.
(C) A treatment or intervention is not medically necessary if the treatment or intervention may be safely deferred until the intersex minor can provide informed consent. Psychological factors do not constitute medical necessity for a treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor.
(3) “Parent or guardian” has the same meaning as used in Section 6903 of the Family Code.
(4) “Psychosocial” means an individual’s psychological status in relation to their social and physical
environment.
(5) For purposes of this section, “informed consent” means that a person knowingly and intelligently, without duress or coercion, and clearly and explicitly manifests their consent to the proposed treatment or intervention to the attending physician and surgeon, following receipt of the written and oral disclosures described in subdivision (e).
(b)
(c) (1) A Absent a medical
necessity, a physician and surgeon shall not perform any treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor if the treatment or intervention may be deferred until the intersex minor can provide informed consent, without the informed consent of the intersex minor, as described in subdivision (d).
(f).
(2) A treatment or intervention subject to the requirements of this section includes, but is not limited to, the following procedures:
(A) Clitorectomy, clitoroplasty, clitoral reduction, and clitoral recession, including corporal-sparing procedures.
(B) Gonadectomy, including of testes, ovaries, ovotestes, and streak gonads.
(C) Hypospadias surgery, relocation of the urethral meatus, and chordee release.
(D) Labiaplasty and labial reduction.
(E) Phalloplasty.
(F) Vaginoplasty, introitoplasty, vaginal exteriorization, and partial or total urogenital sinus mobilization.
(c)
(d) Prior to performing a treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor, a physician and surgeon shall provide to the intersex minor written and oral disclosure, in
nontechnical terms, about all of the following: as described in subdivision (e), and shall obtain the informed consent of the intersex minor, as described in subdivision (f).
(e) The written and oral disclosure required by subdivision (d) shall include, in nontechnical terms, all of the following:
(1) A description of the treatment or intervention to be performed, including any necessary healthcare management or long-term follow-up care to be expected following the treatment or intervention.
(2) A description of any attendant discomfort and
risks to the patient in the short term and long term, which may reasonably be expected following the treatment or intervention.
(3) An explanation of any benefits that the patient can reasonably expect following the treatment or intervention.
(4) An explanation of any appropriate alternative procedures, drugs, or devices, including delay of the procedure, that might be advantageous to the patient, and their relative risks and benefits.
(5) An offer to answer any inquiries concerning the treatment or intervention involved.
(d)
(f) (1) Following the receipt of the written and oral disclosure provided by the physician and surgeon, as described in subdivision (c), the intersex minor shall provide The informed consent to the treatment or intervention, which meets intervention required by subdivision (d) shall be obtained from the intersex minor after providing the disclosure described in subdivision (e) and shall meet all of the following requirements:
(A) The consent shall be in writing and shall contain the
following statement: I (name of minor) do hereby consent to (description of medical procedure) to be performed by (name of physician and surgeon) on (date that the medical procedure is performed on the minor).
(B) The consent shall be signed by the minor and by the physician and surgeon who performs the medical procedure.
(C) The consent shall contain a notification to the minor that the written consent is an important document that should be retained with other vital records.
(2) The physician and surgeon shall retain the original consent in the medical record of the minor and give a copy of the consent to the minor.
(3) If the treatment or
intervention is performed in a hospital, the physician and surgeon shall provide a copy of the consent to the hospital.
(e)This section does not affect the obligation of a physician and surgeon under current law to obtain the informed consent of a patient before performing a medical procedure on the patient that may significantly affect the patient's reproductive health or ability to conceive, or both.
(f)(1)If the intersex minor is unable to give informed consent, a physician and surgeon shall opine only on the medical necessity of a treatment or intervention.
(2)If a physician and surgeon opines on medical necessity of a treatment or intervention pursuant to subparagraph (1), they shall neither evaluate nor opine on whether a treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor is advisable due to psychosocial factors.
(g) If it is medically necessary to perform a treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor without the consent of the intersex minor, a physician and surgeon may perform the medical procedure only if the physician and surgeon provides the written and oral disclosure, as described in subdivision (c), (e), to the parent or guardian, and the parent or guardian provides informed consent, as described in subdivision (d). (f).
(h)The following definitions apply for purposes of this paragraph:
(1)“Intersex minor” means an individual born with atypical physical sex characteristics, including, but not limited to, chromosomes, genitals, or internal organs, and includes differences in sex development resulting from androgen insensitivity syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and hypospadias.
(2)(A)“Medically necessary” means that the treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor is
reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury and cannot be safely deferred.
(B)A medically necessary treatment or intervention on the sex characteristics of an intersex minor includes, but is not limited to, a procedure to repair the bladder, a cloacal exstrophy, or any other procedure intended to allow urine to exit the body absent a urethral opening.
(3)“Parent or guardian” has the same meaning as used in Section 6903 of the Family Code.
(4)“Psychosocial” means an individual’s psychological status in relation to their social and physical environment.
(i)
(h) The board may develop and adopt medical guidelines to implement this subdivision.
(j)
(i) A violation of this section constitutes unprofessional conduct. Section 2314 shall not apply to a violation of this section.