Is infant male circumcision an abuse of the rights of the child? Yes

Hinchley, Geoff

doi:10.1136/bmj.39406.520498.ad

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Despite the medical evidence of bene ts, philosophical arguments claiming that NMC, and MC of older children, is unethical persist [74,80,82,85,135,152]. Rather than a calm, nuanced discourse, arguments by NMC opponents have sometimes been emotive [74,75,119,135,153]. Here we discuss the ethical pros and cons.…”

Section: Ethics and Human Rightsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Despite the lack of similarity, some opponents refer to MC as "male genital mutilation" [75], a term that appears self-serving. Opponents misconstrued a FGM case in the UK [100] by failing to note that items 72 and 73 of the judgement recognized substantial health bene ts of boyhood MC that differentiated it from FGM [146].…”

Section: Legal Argumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a BMJ "Head to Head" article, Geoff Hinchley argued against infant MC in an emotive, one-sided manner replete with fallacies [75]. In contrast, Kirsten Patrick argued in favour of infant MC, pointing to the overriding medical bene ts compared with low risks, so justifying parental choice [76].…”

Section: Further Misunderstandings By MC Opponentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

WITHDRAWN: Neonatal Circumcision: Public Health Necessity or Ethical Dilemma? – Systematic Review

Morris

Rivin

Krieger

2021

Preprint

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Male circumcision (MC) is common in many countries. Despite clear health benefits, ethical arguments have been invoked opposing MC, especially when performed neonatally (NMC). NMC is when most MCs are performed in developed countries. Here we provide the first PRISMA-compliant systematic review of the disparate evidence of ethical and legal arguments concerning NMC and MC of older boys. Searches were performed of PubMed, Embase and Scopus for publications relevant to ethical and legal aspects of MC in developed Anglophone and European countries. This led to retrieval of 48 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. A further 18 articles and 16 Internet publications were identified from searches of bibliographies of articles retrieved. Two more were supplied by a legal academic colleague. In total 84 publications were reviewed. The literature revealed arguments by some that parent-approved MC of a nonconsenting child is unethical. But parental consent also applies to vaccination and all other medical therapies in children. Strong data support a conclusion that: (1) NMC is low risk, (2) NMC provides immediate and lifetime medical and health benefits, and (3) NMC has no adverse effect on sexual function and pleasure. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child articulates the right to health and focuses on the best interests of the child as its guiding principle. Discouraging or denying MC to neonates is arguably unethical, given the overwhelming health benefits. Legal scholars regard case-law as supporting the legality of NMC. Ethical and legal arguments support the rights of males of all ages to lifetime protection against infection and diseases caused by lack of MC. Arguments opposing NMC generally involve distortion of the medical evidence, poorly designed studies and opinions. Opposition to NMC goes against the principles of evidence-based medicine used in reviews conducted to develop pediatric policies in support of optimum public health, sexual health, mental health, and human rights.

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Section: Ethics and Human Rightsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Legal Argumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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WITHDRAWN: Neonatal Circumcision: Public Health Necessity or Ethical Dilemma? – Systematic Review

Morris

Rivin

Krieger

2021

Preprint

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“…Some commentators consider neonatal circumcision to be ethically questionable because it causes bodily mutilation and is conducted without consent of the infant 71. However, others argue that there are long-term benefits for the child that justify the procedure and that parents have the right to consent for their minor child.…”

Section: Ethical Considerations For Neonatal Circumcisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male Circumcision for the Prevention of Acquisition and Transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections

Tobian¹,

Gray²,

Quinn³

2010

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

103

104

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“…Most opponents of routine circumcision in children argue that children have right to remain with their intact body without being interfered by parents and practitioners involved in male circumcision until they are able to decide otherwise (Hinchley, 2007). They further argue that not only do children have the right to intact and unaltered body but also the right to have a peaceful, violence free begging of their journey to adult life and indicate that this procedure is violent, harmful, unnecessary and unethical to doctors who participate (Byle et al, 2000;Hinchley, 2007). Some use the worst terms such as birth without violence and amputation of normal skin to depict the cruelty of such practice in children (Marilyn & MacRis, 1992).…”

Section: Circumcision Criticismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The male circumcision: the oldest ancient procedure, its past, present and future roles.

Mwashambwa

Mwampagatwa

Rastegaev

et al. 2013

Tanzania J Hlth Res

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Circumcision, a surgical removal of male prepuce has existed throughout human history, and it appears it shall exist until humanity ends. During its entire existence, there have been changing reasons or indications from cultural, traditional, religious and currently medical, and it has vehemently been criticized by some individuals for different reasons and in different countries. Emergency of new diseases particularly Human Immunodeficient virus (HIV) has brought the ancient procedure back on spot light, this has come as a result of recent studies which have demonstrated that it does not only reduces significantly the rate of HIV infection, as well as penile cancer and cervical cancer. This has lead to massive male circumcision campaigns in areas with low prevalence of circumcision. On the other hand the socio-cultural and sexual aspects of male circumcision have been studied but often ignored. This article will therefore increase awareness of male circumcision and the increasing roles with time, recommend up scaling of medical male circumcision and possible safe circumcision training to tradition circumcisers. _________________________________________________________________________________________

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Is infant male circumcision an abuse of the rights of the child? Yes

Abstract: Most circumcisions take place for religious rather than medical reasons. Geoff Hinchley argues that the practice is harmful and should be stopped but Kirsten Patrick believes that the future sexual health benefits justify parental choice

Cited by 20 publications

References 5 publications

WITHDRAWN: Neonatal Circumcision: Public Health Necessity or Ethical Dilemma? – Systematic Review

WITHDRAWN: Neonatal Circumcision: Public Health Necessity or Ethical Dilemma? – Systematic Review

Male Circumcision for the Prevention of Acquisition and Transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections

The male circumcision: the oldest ancient procedure, its past, present and future roles.

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