Forced circumcision of men (abridged)

Michael Glass

doi:10.1136/medethics-2013-101626

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Forced circumcision of men (abridged)

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Forced circumcision of children also unethical
Robert Darby
Published on: 16 July 2014

Published on: 16 July 2014
Forced circumcision of children also unethical
- Robert Darby
This is a very telling paper, for if it is true that forced circumcision of an adult male is a violation of his human rights, it must follow that forced circumcision of a male minor - a boy or an infant - is a violation of his human rights and equally wrong. The age at which it is done does not matter - as you can see from a simple thought experiment.
It is held by many people in Australia and the United States...
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This is a very telling paper, for if it is true that forced circumcision of an adult male is a violation of his human rights, it must follow that forced circumcision of a male minor - a boy or an infant - is a violation of his human rights and equally wrong. The age at which it is done does not matter - as you can see from a simple thought experiment.
It is held by many people in Australia and the United States that parents have the right to circumcise their (male) children, and by even more people in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia that they have the right to circumcise their female children as well. How old do the children have to be before parents lose this right? Would it be OK for parents to forcibly circumcise a 25-year-old, male or female? Most people would probably say No, but what about an 18-year old? A 15-year-old? Ten years? Five years? Two years? Six months? Six weeks? We may predict that the number of people answering Yes will increase as we go down the age scale, but what is the basis for their judgement? Where is the dividing line where circumcision without consent becomes unacceptable (going up), or acceptable (going down)? And what are the criteria for placing it there? The fact is that it really makes no difference when a boy or girl is circumcised; whatever the age, it is just as much a violation of his (or her) physical integrity and personal autonomy, and the result is just the same: permanent loss and/or disfigurement of a functional body part. No matter when it is done the result is the same: for the rest of his life he will be deprived of his foreskin, and she will bear the scars of whatever operation was performed on her.
The reason that circumcision advocates insist on circumcision in infancy or early childhood is not because circumcision at that age is safer or attended by fewer complications, despite their claims to the contrary, and certainly not because it has to be done that early for the full extent of the "benefits" to be available. The real reason advocates demand infant circumcision is that early circumcision is simpler and more convenient for the adults because the infant or child has little or no power to object or resist. The older he or she is, the greater his/her powers of resistance.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
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Conflict of Interest:
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