SB873 would prohibit physicians and surgeons in Hawaii from performing certain nonemergency procedures on infants under one year old who are born with variations in their physical sex characteristics, often described as intersex traits. The bill specifically bans clitoroplasty, clitoral reduction or recession, gonadectomy, procedures that lengthen or reroute the urethra, and vaginoplasty-related procedures, unless the surgery is necessary to address an immediate risk of physical harm.
The measure defines the covered population broadly to include individuals born with variations in genitals, gonads, hormone function, or chromosomal patterns, including conditions such as androgen insensitivity syndrome and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. It also defines narrow medical exceptions for urgent or medically necessary care, such as removing tissue with a heightened cancer risk, addressing urinary function problems that create infection or renal risk, treating complications from prior surgery, or preserving life in a medical emergency. The bill would take effect on July 1, 2025, and would add a new section to chapter 453 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.
Impact
SB873 would create a new statutory restriction on pediatric surgical practice in Hawaii by limiting when certain sex-characteristics-related procedures may be performed on infants under age one. It would affect physicians, surgeons, hospitals, and families making decisions about early interventions for children born with variations in physical sex characteristics, while preserving exceptions for immediate physical harm and other urgent medical needs. The bill would amend chapter 453, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by adding a new prohibition section and would establish a legal standard for distinguishing elective or nonemergency procedures from medically necessary ones.
Sentiment
The bill text reflects strong supportive sentiment toward bodily autonomy, patient-centered care, and preventing irreversible harm to infants. Its findings emphasize that the legislature views the prohibited procedures as often nonurgent, potentially harmful, and based on stereotypes rather than clear medical necessity. There is no recorded committee testimony or vote history in the provided materials, so the available context shows the bill as introduced and referred, without evidence of formal opposition or amendment debate.
Contention
The likely point of contention is the scope of the ban and whether the listed procedures should ever be performed before a child can meaningfully participate in decision-making. Supporters would emphasize preventing irreversible surgery on infants and protecting intersex children from nonessential interventions, while critics may argue that the bill could limit physician discretion or complicate care in borderline medical cases. Another possible area of dispute is the breadth of the definitions, especially what qualifies as an individual born with variations in physical sex characteristics and what constitutes an immediate risk of physical harm.
A resolution to direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to only present to the Governor enrolled House bills finally passed by both houses of the One Hundred Third Legislature.
Relating to nonsubstantive additions to, revisions of, and corrections in enacted codes, to the nonsubstantive codification or disposition of various laws omitted from enacted codes, and to conforming codifications enacted by the 88th Legislature to other Acts of that legislature.