Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision: Difference between revisions

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Surrogate consent: Add citation.
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==Surrogate consent==
==Surrogate consent==
Patient autonomy is an important principle of medical ethics.<ref>{{REFbook
Patient autonomy is the first principle of medical ethics.<ref>{{REFbook
  |last=Beauchamp
  |last=Beauchamp
  |first=Tom L.
  |first=Tom L.
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  |publisher=New York: {{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
  |publisher=New York: {{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
  |date=2001
  |date=2001
}}</ref> Consent for a non-therapeutic operation offends the principle of autonomy, when granted by a surrogate.
}}</ref> Consent for a non-therapeutic operation offends the principle of autonomy, when granted by a surrogate.<ref name="myers2020">{{REFjournal
|last=Myers
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=Alex Myers
|last2=Earp
|first2=
|init2=BD
|author2-link=Brian D. Earp
|etal=no
|title=What is the best age to circumcise? A medical and ethical analysis
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal= Bioethics
|location=
|date=2020
|volume=34
|issue=7
|pages=645-63
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/337720859_What_Is_the_Best_Age_to_Circumcise_A_Medical_and_Ethical_Analysis/links/5f815f61a6fdccfd7b555395/What-Is-the-Best-Age-to-Circumcise-A-Medical-and-Ethical-Analysis.pdf
|quote=Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
|pubmedID=32068898
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=10.1111/bioe.12714
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2025-06-28
}}</ref>


Since children, and especially infants, are legally incompetent to grant [[informed consent]] for medical or surgical treatment, that consent must be granted by a surrogate — someone designated to act on behalf of the child-patient, if treatment is to occur.<ref name="conundrum">{{REFjournal
Since children, and especially infants, are legally incompetent to grant [[informed consent]] for medical or surgical treatment, that consent must be granted by a surrogate — someone designated to act on behalf of the child-patient, if treatment is to occur.<ref name="conundrum">{{REFjournal