Last month, German lawmakers voted to ban unnecessary surgeries on babies born with intersex characteristics. The legislation was officially adopted on March 25. While it makes Germany only the third country to end these unnecessary procedures, intersex rights organizations like the Organisation Intersex International (OII) Germany, OII Europe, and Intergeschlechtliche Menschen want more. From them.: ” …it limits protection to children who are diagnosed with an established ‘disorder of sex development,’ a diagnosis which, if changed, could leave children no longer included under the definition of that term unprotected. About 1.7% of children are designated intersex at birth, an umbrella category which can include variations in chromosomes, gonads, hormones, and other sex characteristics that do not fit the typical medical establishment’s definitions of ‘male’ or ‘female.’ Between 2005 and 2016, 1,871 children under the age of 10 were given ‘feminizing’ or ‘masculinizing’ surgery in Germany, according to the University of Bochum. These types of surgical interventions are often cosmetic and considered medically unnecessary by doctors. Most of these procedures are performed on infants who are too young to give consent, as intersex activists have pointed out.” Advocates from the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Family Physicians have argued against these surgeries in the past, citing the potential for long term negative psychological side effects, including higher rates of suicide, depression, and anxiety among those reassigned at birth.