OPERATION QUESTIONED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXV, Issue 305, 23 November 1945, Page 5

OPERATION QUESTIONED

MAGISTRATE AND B.M.A. (Press Assn.) AUCKLAND, Nov. 23. “How far the medical rule applies in this matter I do not know, but 1 think it should be brought before the British Medical Association or its council for the purpose of defining the rule or the course of conduct,’’ said Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Police Court, in commenting on a statement; made by counsel that one of his women clients had undergone an operation for the removal of her breasts.

Mr W. King told the Magistrate that the woman who had masqueraded as a man had consulted two reputable surgeons for the purpose. The Magistrate asked if the . operation was performed for the purpose of giving the woman the appearance of a man, or for a diseased condition, or was it done to destroy the effect of femininity ? Mr King (after leaning over to consult defendant) : I am instructed that it was at the request of the defendant with the idea of rembving any cause for suspicion, and so as not to embarrass her in her work as a labourer. Mr Luxford: It was not done for any medical reason? Mr King: No, sir. “It seems prima facie to me that a surgeon who operates on the human body "for the purpose only of enabling her to masquerade as a man is inherently wrong,” Mr Luxford said. “As to how far the medical rule applies in this matter T do not know, but I think it should be brought before the British Medical Association or its council for the purpose of defining the rule or course of conduct. It seems very wrong in practice, but the doctor has not yet been heard. He is not here. There may have been a very good reason' for what he did, but I am just commenting on the fact that Mr King said the- operation was performed to make her masquerade as a male.” .