ABSTRACT
John Rawls is perhaps the most influential political philosopher of the twentieth century. His philosophy is based on the idea of justice as fairness and emphasizes the importance of basic liberties, including the right to bodily integrity and the use of rationality in making ethical determinations. His political philosophy addressed the challenges a secular society faces when its citizens adhere to a variety of comprehensive doctrines and religious beliefs yet requires social cooperation for the benefit of all. Public policy is determined through ‘public reason’ in which reasonable proposals are considered and compromises made. Using the decisional approaches that Rawls developed, this article explores how the process of public reason would consider the reasonableness of surgically altering the genitals of male minors for non-therapeutic ends. It will incorporate the issues of the basic liberties of minors and the weaknesses of a utilitarian defense of this practice.
