So you think the doctors should pick a sex and create the genitals to match? Sexual identity is more than just having the right genitalia. Unless you think that men's and women's brains are exactly the same? You can't just take a child that's mentally a boy and make the parts female and expect everything to be fine.
I don't see, in this day and age, why the choice would be random. Can't the child's DNA be tested to see which chromosomes are carried, if it's a straight birth defect? It is probably much less traumatic to do the surgery on an infant than waiting until the child "develops" into a boy or girl.
If it's another condition which causes the gender to be genetically undiscernable (is this a word?) then I think the child should be left alone. Like any other disability, the child adapts to it if it's handled correctly by the parents. Besides, by the time the child can vocalize the question "Am I a boy or girl?" the parents will probably be able to tell by certain behavioral traits which tend toward male or female. Genitalia isn't the only determining factor!
My heart goes out to these poor infants and their families. Birth defects are terrible and heartbreaking.
You are right that gender should not be chosen randomly or for convenience in these cases.
I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth. I was just suggesting that there are agendas at work here other than the best interests of a child born with this condition. Other freepers in this thread are pointing out evidence of possible motives of these doctors and researchers. See post 103.