Religious freedom vs bodily integrity: another round of the foreskin wars

Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2013-10-27 14:52

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Council of Europe’s resolution earlier this month to prohibit the circumcision of infant boys for religious reasons has ignited another round to the “foreskin wars”. This time it’s about the rights of religious freedom and autonomy versus the right of individuals to retain “physical integrity”. As usual, different groups are shouting that my human rights are more important than yours.
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Meanwhile, bioethicists and lawyers will continue to disagree about therapeutic and non-therapeutic values because there is an inescapable tension in how we think about harm, autonomy, and competing claims for rights. What are the rights of children, including psychological well-being associated with “belonging”? Do we necessarily favour physical integrity over respect for cultural difference?

One conclusion is that we need to be wary about easy answers in relation to human flourishing, diversity and the “right to health”.'

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Comments

More of a meta-discussion re circumcision than a discussion thereof. Still, the author seems to lean in favor of the idea of religious exceptions to any laws that prohibit infant circ'n. While he discusses religious rights of parents as human rights, he seems to miss out on the human rights question as it pertains to the infant vis-a-vis circ'n.

Yep, this here circ'n issue's gonna be with us for some time. But the ground is shifting, that can't be denied.

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Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2013-10-27 14:55