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<b><i>Human dignity</i></b> is the term given to the principle that humans and human life are entitled to respect. The United Nations has developed many [[human rights]] instruments that provide general guidance on protecting human dignity ."<ref>{{REFbook
|last=President's Council on Bioethics
|first=
}}</ref> The foreskin has [[Foreskin#Physiological_functions| protective, immunological, sensory, and sexual functions]], which are irreversibly destroyed and cease to function after the [[amputation]] of the foreskin by circumcision, imposing a lifetime loss of functional tissue and loss of function upon the patient. The '''ethics of non-therapeutic child circumcision''' being imposed on unconsenting minors (babies and children) has been a source of ongoing controversy.<ref name="bma2006">Committee on Medical Ethics. [https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/ethics/children-and-young-people/non-therapeutic-male-circumcision-of-children-ethics-toolkit The law and ethics of male circumcision: Guidance for doctors]. London: British Medical Association 2006.</ref>
The concern about the ongoing practice of child circumcision has caused spurred the publication of numerous articles in journals of medical ethics.
==Ethics journals ==
|volume=30
|issue=3
|pages=237-26363
|url=http://jme.bmj.com/content/30/3.toc#Symposiumoncircumcision Symposium on circumcision
}}</ref> The symposium published the original version (2003) of the BMA policy statement and six articles by various individuals with a wide spectrum of views on the ethicality of circumcision of male minors. In the introduction, Holm (2004) states:
|volume=19
|issue=8
|pages=815-82424
|DOI=10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708
|pubmedID=28846521
==Principles of medical ethics==
===Cardinal principles===
The four five cardinal principles of medical ethics are:
* <b>Autonomy</b> (respecting a patient's right to make their own decisions),
* <b>Beneficence</b> (acting in the best interest of the patient),
The attending physician must provide the surrogate with all material information concerning the proposed benefits, risks, advantages, and drawbacks of the proposed treatment or procedure.<ref name="conundrum"/><ref name="bioethics"/>
The Committee on Bioethics of the AAP (1995) states that parents may only grant surrogate informed permission for ''diagnosis and treatment '' with the assent of the child whenever appropriate.<ref name="bioethics"/>
There was an unresolved question whether surrogates may grant effective consent for non-therapeutic child circumcision.<ref name="povenmire">{{REFjournal
}}</ref>
Regardless of these issues, the unethical 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="povenmire"/><ref name="conundrum" />
=== The emerging consensus on surrogate consent for non-therapeutic newborn, infant, and child circumcision ===
[[Third-party payment]] is a major support to the performance of this injurious medically-unnecessary surgery. 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 $3.6 billion annual business would collapse. The American [[Medical trade association| medical trade associations]], more than those of other nations, have been unwilling to recognize the child's [[human rights]] to [[physical integrity]], to security of the person, and the right to personal autonomy.
The performance of harmful, medically not indicated [[circumcision ]] upon a child simply to collect a surgical fee must be regarded as <b>patient exploitation</b>.<ref>Principle 13, [https://www.cfpc.ca/CFPC/media/Resources/Education/CMA-Code-of-Ethics.pdf CMA Code of Ethics]. Ottawa: Canadian Medical Association; updated 2004.</ref>
==Is circumcision without valid consent battery?==
Boyle et al. (2004) have argued that non-therapeutic circumcision of boys is "assault",<ref>{{BoyleGJ SvobodaJS PriceCP TurnerJN 2000}}</ref> but is it actually battery?
<b>Simple battery</b> is defined as:
<blockquote>
|date=1999
|volume=83 Suppl. 1
|pages=22-277
|DOI=10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1022.x
|pubmedID=10349411