Male circumcision is a medical procedure that removes the foreskin on the behind the head of the penis. It must be performed by trained medical professionals and conducted according to the laws in the area. Some regulations restrict or ban circumcision. However, many of these practices have been adopted since ancient times.
Some practices also stem from religious views and practices. Circumcision is considered to be legal, but laws involving assault or child custody have been applied in cases dealing with circumcision.
There is a battle between the two different viewpoints regarding male circumcision. Many argue that the procedure is protected under their rights of freedom to practice religion. Those against the procedure argue about the boy’s right to freedom from religion and the irreversible nature of the act, which causes harm to the boy’s body.
Circumcision of adults who grant personal informed consent for the surgical operation is legal. Consent is a big issue that stems from this procedure. In the United States, non-therapeutic circumcision of male children has long been assumed to be lawful in every jurisdiction, provided that one parent grants surrogate informed consent.
There must be a high standard for the medical community regarding the safety of performing this procedure. No state has thus far passed any legislation to ban the practice.
Furthermore, parents dispute whether or not to circumcise their children. Cases have been brought against this practice, and other cases have been filed supporting the practice. For instance, in Kansas, there was a dispute among the parents.
In this case, the father opposed circumcision, while the mother asserted that not circumcising the child was against her religious beliefs. The woman’s pastor remarked that circumcision was important but was not necessary for salvation, and the infant was not circumcised.
The issue of consent was brought to attention in the Chicago courthouse. The judge rules that the 9-year-old boy decides for himself whether to be circumcised when he turns 18. In another court case, the judge sided with the boy rather than his father, who wanted to have him circumcised. The boy refused to be circumcised, and the court sided with him. The importance of consent here is noteworthy. It is considered a personal bodily decision that should not be forced on anyone.
What Is the Consent for Infant Circumcision?
For circumcision, there has been a consent dispute, as discussed briefly above. Infants cannot fully provide consent. The critics of circumcision argue that proxy consent provided by the parents is not sufficient for the medical procedure. Furthermore, if there is no medical justification or a disease to treat, courts have uniformly invalidated parental efforts for children to undergo surgeries such as kidney donation.
According to the Yale Law research, The main criteria that the court determines when evaluating these procedures is to assess the infant’s best interest. For this purpose, you would examine the procedures based on what the infants would choose for themselves if they were legally competent.
Therefore, the proxy consent is applicable in situations when there is a grave injury, or there is a disease. Medical interventions on incompetent patients should be permissible in these circumstances, as the courts have ruled. There must be a benefit for the individual undergoing this sort of medical intervention. If such conditions do not apply in this case, then it would be against the medical community to do any procedure.
Again, the critics argue that although there may be benefits to circumcision, it does not outweigh the autonomy that should be granted to the patient before completing a procedure like this. The procedure prevents that area from becoming infected. The AAP Committee on Bioethics has established guidelines for permitting the patient’s consent to be replaced with parental permission.
Parental permission is considered a form of proxy consent that can authorize medical care to infants and other incompetent persons who cannot provide their permission. Proxy consent poses challenges for pediatric healthcare providers.
The AAP Committee on Bioethics guidelines are the following:
- There is a legal and ethical duty to their child patients to provide competent medical care;
- The care must be based on what the patient needs and not what someone else expresses and;
- The pediatrician must understand that the patient exists independent of parental desires or proxy consent.
Furthermore, The Committee on Bioethics states that the authority to consent to a procedure is solely with the patient, that is, the child. “Only patients who have appropriate decisional capacity and legal empowerment can give their informed consent to medical care in all other situations, parents or other surrogates provide informed permission for diagnosis and treatment of children with the assent of the child whenever appropriate.”
The committee emphasizes that medical intervention should be delayed until consent can be reached, assuming that it is safe to do so. In general, a healthy infant does not need to be circumcised, and thus circumcision can safely wait.
However, if there is an issue, such as the development of a urinary tract infection while the patient is still a minor, then treatments could be considered. Circumcision needs to be the last resort. Otherwise, only the consent of the individual himself can permit such an operation, and no infant is capable of providing such consent as mentioned above.
There are both arguments regarding the benefits of circumcision and drawbacks. The main concern the medical and legal community has is the legality of the consent when performing such a procedure on an infant or a minor boy. Although the parents can provide proxy consent, it does not suffice for this sort of procedure, especially because circumcision can be delayed till the boy reaches an age to provide informed consent.
What Is Female Genital Mutilation?
According to the World Health Organization, there is a census among the countries that female genital mutilation (FGM) is considered illegal. FGM comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
The practice has no health benefits for girls and women and can cause severe bleeding, problems urinating, and later cyst infections. Moreover, this procedure creates complications in childbirth and increases the risk of newborn deaths. Therefore, the practice of FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
The United States Women’s Health Organization states that FGM is against the law in the U.S. The United States and many other countries consider FGM as a method of child abuse and a violation of women’s rights. It is a federal crime in the states to perform any procedure related to FGM. Girls and women who have experienced FGM are not at fault and have not broken any U.S. laws.
When Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?
There are strict regulations regarding male and female circumcision. For consent purposes, you must ensure that each person is entitled to provide one. If you are worried about the legality of consent when it comes to circumcision, you can reach out to a personal injury lawyer to understand what your legal rights are regarding this matter. There are differences between male and female circumcision, along with the practices that follow it.
