THE Times quoted panel member Dr. Maria New as saying that under the recommendations to the IOC, “Those who agree to be treated will be permitted to participate. Those who do not agree to be treated on a case-by-case basis will not be permitted.”
Bay Area Reporter: The IOC's unkind cuts
So, in order to compete in the Olympics, for example, Soundarajan and Semenya would have to surrender whatever dignity they have left after the media hysteria surrounding them, allow themselves to be surgically mutilated and be told that the sense of identity, of what made them who they are, that they have had throughout their lives was a “medical defect” requiring “correction” to remove a physical advantage, real or perceived.
“Every single athlete has a physical advantage and that’s what makes them top athletes,” said Hida Viloria, the OII representative for human rights who started the petition. “When men have advantages, nobody says they have to be penalized. They do the opposite: they celebrate Michael Phelps for taking advantage of his differences.
“It’s unfair and discriminatory. The thing that enables it is society’s prejudice against masculine women,” Viloria added.
Viloria told the Bay Area Reporter Monday she already had 600 signatures from OII’s internal contacts and was just starting to circulate the petition more widely in multiple languages. She said she expects to submit the petition to the IOC in a couple of weeks.
“Their commission is framing that as a medical issue when it is in fact a human rights issue,” Viloria said. “These women are so healthy they are competing as athletes. I have been following the Semenya case and have been outraged with the way she has been singled out simply because of her appearance. There have been many who have competed for years in sports and they have not been subjected to this. If she had worn her hair long or worn makeup the way a lot of female athletes are pressured to do, she would never have been called into question.”
Editorial comment:
Dr Maria New is responsible for a program in the United States of dangerous experimentation on pregnant women and their fetuses using the controversial drug dexamethasone aka dex. Critics and academic bioethicists are calling for an immediate investigation.
Internal links:
- Bioethics Forum: Fetal Cosmetology
- Bioethics Forum: Why I am Suspicious of Bioethics
- fetaldex.org Letter of Concern From Bioethicists
- Dr Maria New directed the recent DSD conference in Florida
- OII’s Position Statement on the Use of Dexamethasone during Pregnancy
- Patient advocate questions use of Dexamethasone on moms and their unborn babies
