Stephanie Saal’s story drives a push for consent‑based intersex care

Stephanie Saal was born in 1995 with an intersex variation – she had no ovaries or uterus but possessed male gonads (ABC News: Christopher Gillette). Within days of her birth, doctors removed those gonads because they were worried about a possible cancer risk.

Years later, a batch of Queensland hospital records obtained through right‑to‑information laws confirmed that the removed gonads showed no evidence of malignancy at the time of surgery.

Driven to understand her own medical history, Stephanie began searching for her 1995 records early last year. The documents she uncovered sparked her campaign for nationwide legal reforms that would stop irreversible surgeries on intersex children without their consent.

Her advocacy aligns with recent legal changes: Victoria passed a law in February 2024 and the Australian Capital Territory did so in 2023 to delay non‑essential intersex surgeries until the child can participate in the decision.

Experts such as paediatric endocrinologist Dr Jacky Hewitt note that medical understanding of cancer risk and fertility options has improved, reinforcing the need for shared decision‑making and legal safeguards to protect the rights and health of intersex people.

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