AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012

The decision to create a new Circumcision Policy Statement was taken in 2008, jointly with two other medical trade associations of doctors who perform and profit from circumcisions, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The obvious goal of the Task Force was preservation of third-party payment, which accounts for the presence of Steven Wegner, MD, JD, representing the AAP Committee on Child Health Financing.

It appears that not a single individual on the Task Force was possessed of a foreskin, a normal male body part, so had no personal knowledge of the foreskin, that is amputated by circumcision, and could not have an informed opinion.

The 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement received unrelenting critical comment from many sources, because of its significant omissions of the function of the foreskin, human rights issues, and many other things.

AAP policies stand for five years unless renewed; this policy expired in 2017. Currently, the AAP does not have a circumcision policy.

The persons listed here are members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force responsible for the 2012 Policy Statement on Circumcision, as listed at the end of the Policy Statement.

Task Force on Circumcision 2012

• Susan Blank, MD, MPH, Chairperson
• Michael Brady, MD, Representing the Committee on Pediatric AIDS
• Ellen Buerk, MD, Representing the AAP Board of Directors
• Waldemar Carlo, MD, Representing the AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn
• Douglas Diekema, MD, MPH, Representing the AAP Committee on Bioethics
• Andrew Freedman, MD, Representing the AAP Section on Urology
• Lynne Maxwell, MD, Representing the AAP Section on Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
• Steven Wegner, MD, JD, Representing the AAP Committee on Child Health Financing

Liaisons

• Charles LeBaron, MD – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Lesley Atwood, MD – American Academy of Family Physicians
• Sabrina Craigo, MD – American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Consultants

• Susan K. Flinn, MA – Medical Writer
• Esther C. Janowsky, MD, PhD

Staff

• Edward P. Zimmerman, MS

Task Force on Circumcision 1999

Members of the Task Force on circumcision 1998-1999

“

Summary of Policy Statement 1999 Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision. In the case of circumcision, in which there are potential benefits and risks, yet the procedure is not essential to the child’s current well-being, parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child. To make an informed choice, parents of all male infants should be given accurate and unbiased information and be provided the opportunity to discuss this decision. It is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in addition to the medical factors, when making this decision. Analgesia is safe and effective in reducing the procedural pain associated with circumcision; therefore, if a decision for circumcision is made, procedural analgesia should be provided. If circumcision is performed in the newborn period, it should only be done on infants who are stable and healthy.

• Carole M. Lannon, MD, MPH, Chairperson
• Ann Geryl Doll Bailey, MD
• Alan R. Fleischman, MD
• George W. Kaplan, MD
• Craig T. Shoemaker, MD
• Jack T. Swanson, MD
• Donald Coustan, MD

See also

• American Academy of Pediatrics