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A circumcision for religious reasons is not medical treatment, so a surrogate may not consent to a religious circumcision. Furthermore, consent for a religious circumcision would violate the boy's religious right to chose his religion when he is of age.
→Conclusion: Relocate paragraph, Revise text.
A surrogate's powers to grant consent are more circumscribed than the powers granted to a competent individual acting on his own behalf.<ref name="svoboda2000" /> A surrogate's power to grant consent for treatment is dependent upon the existence of a medical condition in need of treatment. In the absence of such a condition, the surrogate lacks the power to consent.
A surrogate must:
* Act in the best interests of the patient.
* Protect the rights of the patient under Constitutional law, common law, and international human rights law.
* Receive [[informed consent]] prior to granting consent.
A circumcision for religious reasons is not medical treatment, so a surrogate may not consent to a religious circumcision. Furthermore, consent for a religious circumcision would violate the boy's religious right to chose his religion when he is of age.
A non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] exposes the patient to the surgical risks of [[infection]], [[bleeding]], and [[Documented severe complications of circumcision| surgical mishap]] without any health treatment or benefit, so it is not in the best interests of the patient.
As explained aboveand we reiterate, bioethicists Myers & Earp (2020) exhaustively reviewed the evidence for and against the alleged health benefits to a healthy person claimed for non-therapeutic circumcision of a neonate, infant or child. They balanced this against the [[pain]], [[trauma]], and loss of body tissue and function. They concluded the claimed health benefits are insufficient to support surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision. Given this, only the subject can grant consent for a non-therapeutic circumcision, after he reaches the right age for circumcision, which does not occurs until a male reaches the age of consent in his jurisdiction which may vary from 16 to 18 years of age.<ref name="myers2020" />
The present practice in the [[United States]] and elsewhere of parental surrogate consent for non-therapeutic circumcision is entirely unethical<ref name="myers2020" /> and may also be unlawful.<ref name="povenmire1998" /> <ref name="adler2013" />
The only person who can ethically and legally grant consent for a non-therapeutic [[circumcision ]] is the owner of the [[penis]] when he has reached the legal age for consent.
{{SEEALSO}}