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The introduction of [[circumcision]] as a medical practice was opposed by Dr. [[Herbert Snow]] who published a book entitled ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/57083/pg57083-images.html The Barbarity of Circumcision]'' in 1890.


==Early Twentieth century==
==Early Twentieth century==
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A national election was held in the United Kingdom at the end of World War II. The Labour Party gained a majority of the seats in Parliament and its leader, Clement Atlee, became prime minister. The party leaned to the left and supported social welfare. Aneurin Bevan was Minister of Health. [https://www.nhs.uk/ The National Health Service] (NHS) was created in 1948 to provide free medical treatment for all. Services were provided based on clinical need, not ability to pay. The NHS did not provide non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], so the incidence of circumcision dropped to a very low level.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref>
A national election was held in the United Kingdom at the end of World War II. The Labour Party gained a majority of the seats in Parliament and its leader, Clement Atlee, became prime minister. The party leaned to the left and supported social welfare. Aneurin Bevan was Minister of Health. [https://www.nhs.uk/ The National Health Service] (NHS) was created in 1948 to provide free medical treatment for all. Services were provided based on clinical need, not ability to pay. The NHS did not provide non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], so the incidence of circumcision dropped to a very low level.<ref name="gollaher1994">{{GollaherDL 1994}}</ref>


Sir [[James Calvert Spence]], a prominent senior British paediatrician, urged his younger colleague, [[Douglas Gairdner]], to produce a paper on infant circumcision. The now famous classic paper, ''The fate of the foreskin: a study of circumcision'', was published in the ''British Medical Journal'' on Christmas Eve, 1949. The paper reported 16 deaths per year from non-therapeutic infant circumcision and concluded in part: "'''The prepuce of the young infant should therefore be left in its natural state.'''"<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref>
Sir [[James Calvert Spence]], a prominent senior British paediatrician, urged his younger colleague, [[Douglas Gairdner]], to produce a paper on [[Circumcision of the newborn| infant circumcision]]. The now famous classic paper, ''The fate of the foreskin: a study of circumcision'', was published in the ''British Medical Journal'' on Christmas Eve, 1949. The paper reported 16 deaths per year from non-therapeutic infant circumcision and concluded in part: "'''The prepuce of the young infant should therefore be left in its natural state.'''"<ref name="gairdner1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref>


The NHS provides male circumcision only when there was a clinical need.<ref>{{REFweb
The NHS provides male circumcision only when there was a clinical need.<ref>{{REFweb
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Several papers critical of phimosis diagnosis practice in the UK were published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rickwood & Walker (1989) reported that in the Mersey region (northwest England) "many boys are [[circumcised]] for development non-retractability of the prepuce rather than for true [[phimosis]] and that in consequence some two-thirds of the operations are unnecessary."<ref name="rickwood1989">{{REFjournal
Several papers critical of phimosis diagnosis practice in the UK were published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rickwood & Walker (1989) reported that in the Mersey region (northwest England) "many boys are [[circumcised]] for [[Physiological phimosis| development non-retractability]] of the prepuce rather than for true [[pathological phimosis]] and that in consequence some two-thirds of the operations are unnecessary."<ref name="rickwood1989">{{REFjournal
  |last=Rickwood
  |last=Rickwood
  |first=
  |first=
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}}</ref>
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In defence of the much criticised British GPs, it should be stated that the data they were provided by [[Douglas Gairdner]] regarding development of foreskin retractability was very inaccurate,<ref>{{REFjournal
In defence of the much criticised British GPs, it should be stated that the data they were provided by [[Douglas Gairdner]] (1949) regarding development of foreskin retractability was very inaccurate,<ref>{{REFjournal
  |last=Denniston
  |last=Denniston
  |first=George C.
  |first=George C.
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  |accessdate=2025-01-15
  |accessdate=2025-01-15
  |quote=During one particularly gruesome op on a dining room table in Bristol, a boy's penis "exploded" — causing him to almost die.
  |quote=During one particularly gruesome op on a dining room table in Bristol, a boy's penis "exploded" — causing him to almost die.
}}</ref>
The [[Crown Prosecution Service]] (2026) initially wanted to classify [[circumcision]] as "child abuse".<ref name="guardian2026">{{REFnews
|title=Circumcision classed as possible child abuse in draft CPS document
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/crown-prosecution-service
|last=Weaver
|first=Matthew
|init=
|author-link=
|last2=Osuh
|init2=Chris
|author2-link=
|publisher=The Guardian
|website=https://archive.is/Ztx07
|date=2026-01-10
|accessdate=2026-01-13
|format=
|quote=Circumcision is to be classed as a potential form of child abuse under new guidance for prosecutors, amid concerns from judges and coroners about deaths and serious harms caused by the procedure.
}}</ref> This was toned down to calling circumcision a "potentially harmful practice" after objections from Jewish and Muslim groups<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Circumcision classed as potentially harmful practice in new CPS guidance
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/05/circumcision-classed-potentially-harmful-practice-new-cps-guidance
|last=Weaver
|first=Matthew
|publisher=The Guardian
|website=https://www.theguardian.com
|date=2026-03-05
|accessdate=2026-05-24
|format=
|quote=The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided against including [[circumcision]] alongside dowry abuse, witchcraft and female genital mutilation in its new guidance on honour-based abuse, after objections from Jewish and Muslim groups when the plans were revealed by the Guardian.
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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  |date=2025-01-17
  |date=2025-01-17
  |accessdate=2025-01-28
  |accessdate=2025-01-28
}}</ref>
* The Green Party on 11 June 2026 proposed a ban on [[Child circumcision| circumcision of boys]].<ref>{{REFnews
|title=Revealed: Green party proposes circumcision ban
|url=https://spectator.com/article/revealed-green-party-proposes-circumcision-ban/?edition=us
|last=Hoffman
|first=Noa
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Spectator
|website=https://spectator.com
|date=2026-06-11
|accessdate=2026-06-12
|format=
|quote=The party’s Health Policy Working Group (HPWG) has launched a consultation seeking views on whether parents should only be allowed to consent ‘to an irreversible surgical procedure on a child if that procedure is medically necessary’. The HPWG is also requesting opinions on whether ‘non-therapeutic male circumcision should only be performed on children who are old enough to make an informed choice’.
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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The incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys in the United Kingdom has been substantially reduced from its former peaks in the 1930s and early 1940s. Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys remains lawful provided that both parents grant consent. The practice seems to be concentrated among ethnic minorities. Ethical and [[human rights]] concerns about the surgery persist.
The incidence of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] of boys in the United Kingdom has been substantially reduced from its former peaks in the 1930s and early 1940s. Non-therapeutic circumcision of boys remains lawful provided that both parents grant consent. The practice seems to be concentrated among ethnic minorities. Ethical and [[human rights]] concerns about the surgery persist.


Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] usually is not covered by the NHS, so parents must find a private medical or non-medical operator such as a [[mohel]] to perform the [[foreskin]] [[amputation]] and must pay the fee out of pocket as [[third-party payment]] is not available. Given the recent legal cautions uttered by the BMA,<ref name="bma2019" /> it may not be easy to find a medical practitioner willing to accept the risk.
Non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is not covered by the NHS, so parents must find a private medical or non-medical operator such as a [[mohel]] to perform the [[foreskin]] [[amputation]] and must pay the fee out of pocket as [[third-party payment]] is not available. Given the recent legal cautions uttered by the BMA,<ref name="bma2019" /> it may not be easy to find a medical practitioner willing to accept the risk.


The NHS announced in November 2022 that it would no longer perform the 23,000 circumcisions that it had been performing every year.<ref name="warren2022">{{REFweb
The NHS announced in November 2022 that it would no longer perform the 23,000 circumcisions that it had been performing every year.<ref name="warren2022">{{REFweb
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{{SEEALSO}}
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[15 Square]]
* [[15 Square]]
* [[Desmond Morris]]
* [[Genital Autonomy]]
* [[Genital Autonomy]]
* [[Initiation Society]]
* [[Initiation Society]]
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{{LINKS}}
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_Kingdom|United Kingdom}}
* {{URLwikipedia|United_Kingdom|United Kingdom}}
* {{REFnews
|title=And, cut! What it was like being circumcised in my 60s
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/06/and-cut-what-it-was-like-being-circumcised-in-my-60s
|last=Jeffries
|first=Stuart
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=The Guardian
|website=
|date=2023-05-06
|accessdate=2026-01-18
|quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
* {{REFweb
  |url=https://intactamerica.org/cultures-that-reject-circumcision/
  |url=https://intactamerica.org/cultures-that-reject-circumcision/
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  |date=2025-02-23
  |date=2025-02-23
  |accessdate=2025-05-08
  |accessdate=2025-05-08
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/uncircumcised_talk/comments/1qxqitc/queen_victorias_grandson_started_the_fad_of/
|title=Queen Victoria’s grandson started the fad of destroying British royal foreskins.
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=REDDIT
|date=2026-02-06
|accessdate=2026-02-07
}}
}}
{{REF}}
{{REF}}




[[Category:Countries]]
 
 
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Male circumcision]]
[[Category:Country]]
[[Category:English-speaking nation]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
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