The Bioethics of the Circumcision of Male Children.
Human rights.
International human rights law has profoundly transformed medical ethics.This page, therefore, indexes human rights instruments in addition to medical ethics documents.
The Physician's Oath of the World Medical Association requires doctors to use their medical knowlege in compliance with "the laws of humanity."
The codes of medical ethics of Australia, Canada, Norway, and the United States all require doctors to respect the human rights of patients.
The United Kingdom makes respect for the human rights of patients a legal requirement by the Human Rights Act 1998.
Children enjoy certain human rights (including the right to special protection) under general human rights instruments.
They also enjoy additional protections under special instruments related to childhood.
See... 'Attorneys for the Rights of the Child' for a table of human rights that are violated by circumcision of male children.
The UN Commission on the former Yugoslavia defines circumcision as sexual assault and a human rights violation.
In Article 24.3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child the phrase, "traditional procedures prejudicial to the health of children," refers to the practice of circumcision.
The circumcision of male children, therefore, violates numerous provisions of various international human rights instruments, and must be considered unethical medical practice.
Doctors Opposing Circumcision has released a detailed report on human rights and the circumcision of children.
Cruel and degrading treatment.
Cruel and degrading treatment is a violation of human rights.
Circumcision is a cruel and degrading treatment because it degrades the appearance and function of the male sex organ by removing large amounts of healthy functional protective erogenous tissue.
Doctors should not participate in cruel or degrading treatment.
Doctors should report incidents of cruel or degrading treatment or torture to their professional association or their supervisor, if possible, or to an international human rights organization.
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