North American Task Force on Intersex Formed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 23, 2000
CONTACT INFO
CHERYL CHASE, ISNA (734) 994-7369
IAN AARONSON, NATFI (843) 792-4531
NORTH AMERICAN TASK FORCE ON INTERSEX FORMED
SEEKS BROAD INTERDISCIPLINARY CONSENSUS ON TREATMENT
The North American Task Force on Intersex (NATFI) has been formed in
response to the growing debate over standards of practice for medical treatment
of intersex children. Until a few years ago, these standards were uncontroversial.
Now, however, the standards face criticism from patient advocate groups.
In addition, the story of David Reimer, published in John Colapinto's book
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl, is receiving extensive
media attention.
The Task Force was formed by Ian Aaronson MD, a pediatric urologist
at the Medical University of South Carolina. Aaronson has, over the past
decades, cared for many intersex patients and is the author of chapters
on the subject in several medical textbooks.
"We are committed to learn from past mistakes in order to offer the
best advice and treatment to our patients in the future," said Aaronson.
"Long term outcome data is very sparse and selective, and this puts surgeons
on tenuous ethical grounds. I was very gratified at the positive response
from members of the professional community and the patient advocate groups
to the notion of forming a Task Force."
NATFI brings together specialists in surgery, endocrinology, psychology,
ethics, psychiatry, epidemiology, genetics, public health and representatives
of intersex patient advocate groups. With the participation of representatives
of the Intersex Society of North America and the AIS Support Group, the
Task Force is the first decision-making body on intersex medical care to
have included intersex patient advocates. "We are committed to achieving
consensus on these all-important patient care issues," said Aaronson.
The Task Force, under Aaronson's chairmanship, is expected to address
a number of issues, including 1) establishment of standards for informed
consent, 2) retrospective review of the long term psychosexual status of
patients treated for intersex, 3) establishment of guidelines for the management
of children born with ambiguous sex anatomy, 4) initiation of a prospective
registry, and 5) revision of medical nomenclature.
The Task Force, an independent and self-governing body, has been endorsed
by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Urological Association,
the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American College
of Medical Genetics, the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society, the
Society for Pediatric Urology, the Society for Fetal Urology, and the Society
of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons.
NATFI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Ian Aaronson MD
Medical University of South Carolina
Department of Urology
Julie Barthold MD
DuPont Hospital for Children
Division of Urology
Sheri A. Berenbaum PhD
Southern Illinois University
School of Medicine, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Michael Carr MD
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Division of Urology
Cheryl Chase
Intersex Society of North America
Sherri Groveman
Androgen Insensitivity Support Group
Melvin M Grumbach MD
University of California at San Francisco
School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Anne Marie Houle MD
Ste Justine Hospital
Division of Urology
Douglas Husmann MD
Mayo Clinic
Department of Urology
Julianne Imperato-McGinley MD
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Division of Endocrinology
Gerald Jordan MD
Norfolk Virginia
Suzanne Kessler PhD
State University of New York at Purchase
Division of Natural Science
Antoine Khoury MD
The Hospital for Sick Children
Division of Urology
Barry Kogan MD
Albany Medical College
Division of Urology
Thomas Kolon MD
Naval Medical Center
Department of Urology
Peter Lee MD
Milton Hershey Medical Center
Department of Pediatrics
Lawrence McCullough PhD
Baylor College of Medicine
Center of Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Patrick H. McKenna MD
Connecticut Children's Medical Center
Department of Pediatric Urology
Ilan Meyer MD
Columbia University
School of Public Health
Heino Meyer-Bahlburg PhD
Columbia University
Division of Child Psychiatry
Claude Migeon MD
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Department of Pediatric Endocrinology
Maria New MD
The New York Hospital, Cornell Med Ctr
Department of Pediatrics
William George Reiner MD
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Alan B. Retik MD
Boston Children's Hospital
Department of Urology
Justine Schober MD
Pediatric Urology
Sharon Schwartz PhD
Columbia University
Department of Epidemiology
Linda Dairiki Shortliffe MD
Stanford University Medical Center
Department of Urology
Eric Vilain MD
UCLA School of Medicine
Department of Human Genetics
Jean D. Wilson MD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Texas Southwestern Medical School
Selma Witchel MD
Children's Hospital of Pittsburg
Department of Endocrinology
Kenneth J. Zucker PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health--Clarke Division
Child and Adolescent Gender Identity Clinic
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