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michthemunchkin
Reviews
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Identity (2005)
Sad story based on real events
I disagree with the reviewer who claimed that the writers of this episode thought they were "clever" by coming up with this plot. Clearly the episode was based entirely on the story of David Reimer, who suffered a disfiguring injury (specifically, a botched circumcision) shortly after birth and was subsequently raised as a girl, on the advice of Dr. John Money. Like the kid in this episode, Reimer had a twin, who was raised as a boy.
I find it ludicrous that anyone would think the writers set out to create this story line on their own; like so many of their other episodes, this one was obviously based on real events. The only difference between the real events and the outcome of this episode is that, sadly, the doctor who essentially ruined David Reimer's life suffered no ill consequences of his actions. Instead, it was David himself who lost his life. He died by suicide in 2004.