Letters to the editor

  • by BAR staff
  • Wednesday January 19, 2022
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Letters to the editor

Body autonomy and Senator Wiener

Matthew S. Bajko's article about the intersex bill, Senate Bill 255, ["Intersex bill, again, dies in committee," January 6] was a sad reminder to me of the hypocritical nature of today's politicians — even your favorite state senator, Scott Wiener.

To see him quoted as he waxed eloquent to the barbarity of "sex correcting" surgeries on intersex children and his inability to pass "a basic civil rights law" in California, I could only remember his ferocious opposition (as District 8's supervisor) to San Francisco's attempt to ban male genital mutilation back in 2011.

There is really little or no difference in what is going on today. Adults are making decisions that affect their children with no regard to the child and their body autonomy.

Well, Scott, I guess you're not going to get it both ways. Perhaps you might have given greater thought to your knee-jerk reactions in 2011. Body autonomy is full body autonomy. It's not conditioned upon traditional ideas or belief systems. You have proved yourself a hypocrite and I hope that fact will become apparent to you at some point.

My hat is off to Mr. Bajko for a well-researched and assembled article. The only thing missing was a bit of history.

Richard Merk

Woodside, California

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