(CNN) A bill that would have banned cosmetic surgeries on intersex infants failed a key California vote Monday afternoon, effectively tabling the bill for this legislative session.

SB 201 would have been the first legislation in the country to ban cosmetic genital surgeries on intersex babies, a practice the United Nations has condemned and the international non-profit Human Rights Watch has ruled a human rights violation.

In recent decades, the surgeries have been relatively common for infants born with atypical sex organs. But more recently, intersex activists have argued that a person should have the legal right to consent to cosmetic surgeries performed on one's own body -- an ability infants do not have. Such is the case for Rosie Lohman, now 7, whose parents have been open about their choice to have her grow up without surgical intervention.

SB 201 needed to pass Monday's vote out of committee in order to advance for a floor vote.

The bill's author, state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, said in response, "I'm very disappointed that the committee voted down this civil rights bill. Intersex people deserve legal protection, and we are committed to ensuring that protection under California law.

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