Conclusion:

At the heart of the issue is the question; how may we best preserve the
rights of the child? Parental Authority as exercised as a right and duty are mere avenues
to forward the same value. he issue then boils down to firstly! what alternative would
best preserve the rights of the child. "econdly! which actor would be the one best capable
of ma#ing and weighing those alternatives of treatment or non$treatment?
%n pursuit of this ultimate value! we can arrive at various alternatives. &ne
alternative is that the best interest of the child varies and is always upheld if exercised by
a specific actor! may it be the doctor or the parent. 'hereas parents are usually given the
benefit of the doubt in law to have the best interest of children in mind! there are
instances where this is not the case and the state intervenes and overrides parental
authority as shown in the case of Horacio Luna and Liberty Hizon-Luna versus Court of
Appeals
1
. (octors on the other hand! may be experts in their own field! but even the law
ac#nowledges that they are not necessarily in the best position to ma#e the decision given
their limited contact with the child )this is an assertion that % have not found a way to
prove yet* in question as parents are still given final say )source is interview*
he current procedure is that the doctor would provide information and
full disclosure to the parent and they would decide the action to be ta#en. +owever! it is
usually the case that the concurrence of both the doctor and the parent are required for
medical procedures. ,oth the parent and the doctor are necessary actors! but complete
reliance of one over the other would not always uphold the rights of the child. A doctor
-
+oracio .una and .iberty +i/on$.una versus Court of Appeals! 0.1. 2o. .$34567! 8une -4! -94:.
cannot proceed with treatment without the concurrence of the parent! even if it is life
threatening for the child. +owever! a doctor may refuse to treat a child if he believes it is
in the child;s best interest and without negligence on his part. herefore! it seems that
complete faith in either of these two actors is generally unsatisfactory in forwarding the
best interest of children.
he other alternative is to assert that there is a correct general rule with
regards treatment of intersex children and the concurrence of the actor is not quite as
important. here would be instances where surgery is opted for the intersex child even if
the procedure is merely cosmetic.
0%.%A %2"<1 C&2C.="%&2" &> ?A8&1 A10=?<2" +<1<.
=2 stance
invasive nature of surgery if benefit it unclear
preempting choice of child
herefore! whereas treatment in cases where CA+ is life threatening is
obviously desirable! it it is generally better for the intersex child that treatment be
withheld if done only for cosmetic reasons! otherwise! the rights of these intersex
children are violated.
After all has been established! we recommend firstly! that a law be passed
that compels doctors to duly inform parents of our above discussion with regards to the
ris#s! rights violations and uncertainties involved. "econdly! notwithstanding the desire of
a parent to @correctA the genitals of the intersex child! that practitioners be banned from
executing the procedure unless there are clear and compelling reasons such as life
threatening ris#s and until the intersex child may ma#e the decision on his own. hirdly!
that financial support and subsidy be appropriated for the education of both parents as
well as the orientation of intersex children towards their condition at appropriate age
levels. .astly! that there be further research into how intersexuality affects gender identity
and the effects of surgery on intersex individuals for future policy$ma#ing.
%ntersex individuals deserve special protection given their unique state.
Parents and doctors are good albeit imperfect decision ma#ers in forwarding the rights of
children. +owever! it is normatively better that cosmetic treatment be withheld for
intersex individuals %f the ultimate values we have to forward are the rights of the child.
he state must respectively intervene and put necessary guidelines in place for the proper
exercise of parental authority.