Regarding the article in “Hers,” online Aug. 27, “Pediatrics Group says Circumcision has definite health benefits”: The new American Academy of Pediatric’s (AAP) statement on circumcision is a confusing coalition of opinions. The AAP claims, “The health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks” and “the true incidence of complications after newborn circumcision is unknown.” The report claims that a reduction in cases of penile cancer is a medical justification for circumcision and that 170,000 circumcisions are required to prevent a single case. The AAP advances circumcision to reduce HIV and STD infections in America, while America reports the highest rate of HIV and STD transmission in the industrialized world and the highest incidence of newborn circumcision.

Excision of parts of a child’s genitals, in the absence of disease, deformity, or injury, is not a valid medical procedure.

According to modern anatomical research, the parts of the penis removed in a circumcision are far from trivial. In adulthood, the foreskin comprises 12-to-15-square inches of highly vascularized tissue, containing muscles, lymph vessels and tens of thousands of specialized nerve endings. Recent touch-test sensitivity research identifies the foreskin as the largest platform of fine-touch neural receptivity on the penis.

According to established principles of medical ethics, the choice to surgically remove normal, healthy parts of an individual’s body resides only with the individual undergoing the surgery. The AAP’s Bioethics Committee states: “Proxy consent poses serious problems for pediatric health-care providers. Such providers have legal and ethical duties to their child patients to render competent medical care based on what the patient needs, not what someone else expresses. The pediatrician’s responsibilities to his or her patient exist independent of parental desires or proxy consent.” In other words, the patient is not the parent, and since the patient cannot voice his consent, surgically removing part of his body without immediate medical need is medically unethical.

Prophylactic circumcision of minors is a medical issue only in that it is medical fraud. Under the guise of parental choice and religious freedom, the American Academy of Pediatrics is now actively promoting surgeries that violate personal autonomy.

Steve Scott

National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers of Utah

Salt Lake City