17,052
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
Fox and Thomson (2005) state that in the absence of "unequivocal evidence of medical benefit", it is "ethically inappropriate to subject a child to the acknowledged risks of infant male circumcision." Thus, they believe, "the emerging consensus, whereby parental choice holds sway, appears ethically indefensible".<ref name="fox-thomson"/>
<!--[[Brian J. Morris|Morris]] ''et al''. (2014) argued that "...failure to circumcise a baby boy may be unethical because it diminishes his right to good health."<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Morris
|first=B.J.
|DOI=10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.01.001
|pubmedID=24702735
}}</ref>-->
The Belgian Federal Consultative Committee for Bioethics (''[[:fr:Comité consultatif de Bioéthique de Belgique|Comité Consultatif de Bioéthique de Belgique]]'') (2017), after a three-year study, has ruled that circumcision of male children for non-therapeutic purposes is unethical in [[Belgium]].<ref>Statement in French: {{REFweb
|date=2017
|quote=As circumcision is irreversible and therefore a radical operation, we find the physical integrity of the child takes precedence over the belief system of the parents.
}}</ref> The process is irreversible, has no medical justification in most cases, and is performed on minors unable to give their own permission, according to the committee. Paul Schotsmans of the [[KU Leuven|University of Leuven]], on behalf of the committee, noted "the child’s right to physical integrity, which is protected by the [[Convention on the Rights of the Child|International Treaty on the Rights of the Child]], and in particular its protection from physical injury."<ref name="bulletin2017"/> The Belgian minister of health replied that the federal institute for health insurance cannot check and know whether in (individual cases) a circumcision is medically justified or not and that she will continue to reimburse circumcision of minors as the safety of the child is her primary concern and she wants to avoid botched circumcisions by non-medical circumcisers.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20170920_03084394
|title=De Block blijft besnijdenis terugbetalen
{{Main|Circumcision and HIV}}
Rennie ''et al''. (2007) remark that the results of three randomised controlled trials in sub-Saharan Africa, showing reduced risk of HIV among circumcised men, "alter the terms of the debate over the ethics of male circumcision."<ref name="rennierennie2007">{{REFjournal
|last=Rennie
|first=Stuart