MANILA, Philippines — A conservative House leader succeeded Tuesday in excluding the term intersex, which describes people born with sex characteristics that do not fit with typical male and female bodies, from the definition of sex in a draft “comprehensive” anti-discrimination bill, with proponents of the measure conceding to define it in a separate provision.
Deputy Speaker Bienvenido Abante Jr. (Manila) blocked attempts to add intersex in the definition of sex, which in the draft bill only covers men and women, arguing that adding the term would make the proposed law complicated.
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“Don’t make it complicated. Doon nagkakaroon ng maraming interpretation when you begin to complicate the law,” Abante said during a House panel’s deliberation of the proposal.
(Don’t make it complicated. That’s when many interpretations appear when you begin to complicate the law.)
Rep. Geraldine Roman (Bataan) tried to push back and proposed to add intersex in the definition of sex.
“I think it is about time to open the eyes of the public to the scientific truth that there are people who are born intersex, that is with the gonads of both men and women,” Roman said.
However, Roman and other proponents of the measure eventually relented to a compromise where the term intersex would be defined in a separate provision.
Including intersex in the definition of sex would have been a landmark recognition of intersex people in legislation, which currently only recognizes two sexes — man and woman.