Genitoplasty in Indian infants: medicine’s achievements and misses, bioethics and culture

Abstract

The objective of the present article is to discuss the bioethical aspects of recent genitoplasty practices in female babies in India, taking into consideration psychological, physiological, social, cultural and historical issues that influence such practice.  The methodology was based on reviews of articles published in the databases of Scielo and Pubmed websites and on the reading of books which could validate our reasoning.  In the discussion, historical and mythological aspects that have built the current position of the woman in the Indian society were addressed, by gathering culture concepts and social subjects related to the theme.  Among arguments against the performance of genitoplasty, harms to the girl’s health were highlighted, and mainly the ethical questioning of parents and doctors attitude.  Through the analysis of all these factors, it was concluded that the result is harmful to the infant and some measures for the extinction of the procedure were suggested.