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Ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision

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Male [[circumcision]] is the surgical removal of the [[foreskin]] (prepuce) from the human penis.<ref name=sawyer_2011>{{REFbook
|last=Sawyer
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720092409/http://www.racp.edu.au/download.cfm?DownloadFile=A453CFA1-2A57-5487-DF36DF59A1BAF527
|archivedate=2008-07-20
}}</ref> <ref name="bma2006">{{REFjournal |last=Committee on Medical Ethics |first= |author-link= |last2= |first2= |author2-link= |etal=no |title=The law and ethics of male circumcision: Guidance for doctors |trans-title= |language= |journal=British Medical Association |location= |date=2006-06 |volume= |issue= |pages= |url=. [http://www.bma.org.uk/-/media/Files/PDFs/Practical advice at work/Ethics/Circumcision.pdf |quote= |pubmedID= |pubmedCID= |DOI= |accessdate=2019-11-03}}The law and ethics of male circumcision: Guidance for doctors]. London: British Medical Association 2006.</ref>
Some medical associations take the position that the parents should determine what is in the best interest of the infant or child.<ref name="AAP1999">{{REFjournal
|pubmedID=10049981
|pubmedCID=
}}</ref> Others say that circumcision is an infringement of the child's autonomy and should be delayed until he is capable of making the decision himself.<ref>{{REFbook |url=https://books.google.com/?id=C1T6NrSPD_AC |title=Clinical Ethics in Pediatrics: A Case-Based Textbook |last=Diekema |first=Douglas S. |last2=Mercurio |first2=Mark R. |last3=Adam |first3=Mary B. |date=2011-09-08 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139501835 |location= |pages=43–48 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="knmg.artsennet.nl2KNMG2010">[http://knmgcircumstitions.artsennet.nlcom/webDocs/file?uuid=579e836dKNMG-ea83-410f-9889-feb7eda87cd5&owner=a8a9ce0e-f42b-47a5-960e-be08025b7b04&contentid=77976&elementid=771754 policy.pdf Non-Therapeutic Circumcision of Male Minors]. Utrecht: Royal Dutch Medical Association, 2010.</ref>
==Medical societies views==
[[File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg|thumb|upright=0.3]]
The [[Royal Dutch Medical Association]] (''Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot bevordering der Geneeskunst'') (KNMG) and several Dutch specialist medical societies published a statement of position regarding circumcision of male children on 27 May 2010. The KNMG argues against circumcising male minors due to lack of evidence the procedure is useful or necessary, its associated risks, and violate the child's autonomy.<ref name="knmg.artsennet.nl2KNMG2010"/> They recommend deferring circumcision until the child is old enough to decide for himself.<ref name="knmg.artsennet.nl2KNMG2010" /> The Royal Dutch Medical Association questions why the ethics regarding male genital alterations should be viewed any differently from female genital alterations, when there are mild forms of female genital alterations (like pricking the clitoral hood without removing any tissue or removing the clitoral hood altogether). They have expressed opposition to both male circumcision and all forms of female circumcision, however they do not advocate a prohibition of male circumcision and prefer that circumcisions be done by doctors instead of illegal, underground circumcisers .<ref name="knmg.artsennet.nl2KNMG2010"/>
=== Scandinavia ===
Regardless of these issues, the general practice of the medical community in the United States is to receive surrogate informed consent or permission from parents or legal guardians for non-therapeutic circumcision of children.<ref name="bma2006"/><ref name="povenmire"/>
 
==Observations==
 
The non-therapeutic circumcision industry in the United States produces more than $1 billion annually. If parents could not grant consent for non-therapeutic circumcision, then no one could grant consent for the non-therapeutic circumcision of a child, so the $1 billion annual business would collapse. The American medical trade associations, more than other nations, have been unwilling to recognize the child's right to bodily integrity, to security of the person, and the right to personal autonomy.
 
{{SEEALSO}}
 
* [[Human rights]]
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