A person who has corrective surgery so as to present himself or herself according to his or her primary biological sex can be baptized. - cg-E, p. 98
Thanks WiFi!,
First of all, this isn't even an accurate description of all intersex people, only some.
Individuals with Androgen insensitivity syndrome generally look completely female even though they have XY chromosomes normally indicating a biological male. These people are generally not identified as intersex until puberty when they fail to menstruate.
As explained in the article, Androgen insensitivity syndrome, published by the US National Library of Medicine:
- "Complete androgen insensitivity prevents the penis and other male body
parts from developing. At birth, the child looks like a girl. The
complete form of the syndrome occurs in as many as 1 in 20,000 live
births."
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That same article continues:
- A person with complete AIS appears to be female but has no uterus, and has very little armpit and pubic hair. At puberty, female sex characteristics (such as breasts) develop. However, the person does not menstruate and become fertile. ... Complete AIS is rarely discovered during childhood.
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That beings said, the obvious implication of the statement from the WTBTS's "Correspondence Guidelines" is that a person that has NOT had "corrective surgery" cannot be baptized.
This demonstrates a stunning lack of understanding on the part of the WTBTS of this admittedly complex situation. That they lump all types of intersex into the now out-dated term "hermaphrodite" also betrays their ignorance and backwards thinking.
