Changes

The incidence of male neonatal non-therapeutic medically unnecessary [[circumcision ]] in New Zealand among white New Zealanders rose to about 95 percent in the 1940s. The incidence of male neonatal non-therapeutic circumcision started to decline about 1950. The decline seems to have been triggered by the publication of [[Douglas Gairdner]]'s classic 1949 paper, ''The Fate of the Foreskin: A Study of Circumcision''.<ref name="gairdner1949">{{REFjournalGairdnerDM 1949}}</ref> |last=Gairdner |first=DDr Phil Silva reported that 40.M. |title=The fate 3 percent of boys born in 1972-3 in the foreskin: a study of circumcision |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=2 |issue=4642 |pages=1433-1437 |url=[https://wwwdunedinstudy.ncbiotago.nlmac.nih.govnz/pmc/articles/PMC2051968/pdf/brmedj03656-0009.pdf |quote= |pubmedID=15408299 |pubmedCID=2051968 |DOI=10.1136/bmj.2.4642Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study] were [[circumcised]].1433 |date=1949 |accessdate=2019-10-28}}</ref>

It The incidence of circumcision was reported at 0.35 percent among white New Zealanders Zealander boys in 1995.<refname="mcgrath-young2001">{{REFbook

|editoreditors=[[George C. Denniston]], [[Frederick M. Hodges|Frederick Mansfield Hodges]], and [[Marilyn Milos|Marilyn Fayre Milos]]

|title=''Understanding Circumcision'': A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem

}}</ref> The [http://www.nzma.org.nz/ New Zealand Medical Association] estimated in 2001 that about one percent of Caucasian boys were being [[circumcised]], but nearly 100 percent of Tongan, Samoan, and Jewish boys are being [[circumcised]].<ref name="bone2001">{{REFnews |title=The First Cut |url=http://www.cirp.org/news/listener11-17-01/ |last=Bone |first=Alistair |coauthors= |publisher=The Listener |website= |date=2001-11-17 |accessdate=2020-01-24 |quote=}}</ref> The New Zealand Public Health System does not fund non-therapeutic circumcision.<ref name="afsari2002">{{REFjournal |last=Afsari |first=Mahnaz |init= |author-link= |last2=Beasley |first2=Spencer W. |init2= |author2-link= |last3=Moate |first3=Kiki |init3= |author3-link= |last4=Hecket |first4=Karen |init4= |author4-link= |etal=no |title=Attitudes of Pacific parents to circumcision of boys |trans-title= |language= |journal=Pac Health Dialog |location= |date=2002-03 |volume=9 |issue=1 |article= |page= |pages=29-31 |url=http://pacifichealthdialog.nz/pre-2013-archive/Volume209/No20120_20Emergency20Health20In20The20Pacific/Original20Papers/Attitudes20of20Pacific20Island20parents20to20circumcision20of20boys.pdf |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=12737414 |pubmedCID= |DOI= |accessdate=2021-11-08}}</ref>

The [https://www.racp.edu.au/ [Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (RACP) has issued a statement on non-therapeutic child circumcision. (''Australasia '' includes New Zealand.) The statement (2010) states:

After reviewing the currently available evidence, the [[RACP ]] believes that the frequency of diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia and New Zealand. However it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.

The option of leaving circumcision until later, when the boy is old enough to make a decision for himself does need to be raised with parents and considered. This option has recently been recommended by the [[Royal Dutch Medical Association]]. The ethical merit of this option is that it seeks to respect the child’s [[physical integrity]], and capacity for autonomy by leaving the options open for him to make his own autonomous choice in the future. However, deferring the decision may not always be the best option. As noted earlier, the psychosocial benefits of circumcision (e.g. full inclusion in a religious community) may only be obtained if circumcision is done in infancy. Waiting until the boy is twelve years old or more (i.e. old enough to make his own decision) may mean losing benefits that circumcision was intended to produce.<ref name="racp2010">{{REFdocument

|publisher=The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]

The males in New Zealand who are [[circumcised ]] are mostly older men. The percentage of males who are circumcised is gradually declining as older circumcised males die off and are replaced by younger [[intact ]] males. Almost no white males under 35-years-of-age are circumcised.

The Maori people who constitute about 17 percent of the population do not circumcise.<ref name="mcgrath-young2001" />

It is said that the small Jewish population have to fly in a ''[[mohel]]'' if they want to have a son [[circumcised]].<ref name="mcgrath-young2001" />

The Pacific Island people who constitute 8.1 percent of the population are an exception. The Pacific Islanders circumcise (actually a [[dorsal slit]]) as part of their culture.<ref name="afsari2002"/> <ref>{{REFnews

}}</ref> {{SEEALSO}}* [[Australia]]* [[Foreskin]]* [[Human rights]]* [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]* [[T.I.A.K.I. - Tamariki In Aotearoa Kept Intact]]

* Young H, McGrath K. [{{REFweb |url=http://www.circumstitions.com/NZ.html |title=The rise and fall of circumcision in New Zealand |website=Circumstitions |last=Young H. & [[Ken McGrath|McGrath, K.]] |date=2000-12-08 |accessdate=2020-01-01}}* {{REFjournal |last=Watson |first=Lindsay R. |init= |author-link=Lindsay R. CircumstitionsWatson |etal=no |title=The universal condition: Medical constructions of 'congenital phimosis' in twentieth century Nev Zealand and their implications for child rearing |trans-title= |language= |journal=Health History |location= |date=2014 |season= |volume=16 |issue=1 |article= |page= |pages=87-106 |url=https://www.academia.edu/15830843/The_Universal_Condition_Medical_Constructions_of_Congenital_Phimosis_in_Twentieth_Century_New_Zealand_and_their_Implications_for_Child_Rearing |archived= |quote= |pubmedID=25095486 |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.5401/healthhist.16.1.0087 |accessdate=2022-05-14}}* {{REFweb |url=https://intactivistsofaustralasia.wordpress.com/ |title=Intactivists of Australasia |last= |first= |author-link= |publisher= |website= |date= |accessdate=2019-11-17 |format= |quote=}}* {{REFweb |url=https://www.stuff. 8 December 2000co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/300958020/aggressive-circumcisions-ruined-the-lives-of-these-men |title='Aggressive' circumcisions ruined the lives of these men |last=Solomon |first=Serena |init= |publisher=Stuff |date=2023-08-28 |accessdate=2023-09-20}}