Circumcision, cultural bias, and the question of consent

Article here. Excerpt:

'...Small children -- let alone infants -- have no capacity to consent to the surgical removal of sound body parts. Secondly, there is no compelling medical need to cut off healthy genital tissue. The cutting of male or female genitals is a socially constructed practice often linked to group identity or religious doctrine.
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Many Americans think of male circumcision as an issue of hygiene. Yet, this is not the case. The vast majority of men throughout human history have kept their intact penises clean without any extraordinary effort. Many Americans think that the foreskin, which is removed in a circumcision surgery, is useless skin. This is also untrue. It seems that with the acceptance of the routine cutting of infant penises, we also have cut the function of the foreskin from our consciousness. In an intact adult male, the foreskin is the most sensitive and erogenous 12-15 square inches of his body and it contains 10,000-20,000 fine touch nerve endings. It is not useless skin.
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One can learn a great deal about cultural bias when comparing the traditions of male and female genital cutting.

Imagine an infant girl placed onto a cold, hospital table specifically designed to restrain her small body. She is naked. Her flailing arms and legs are strapped down. A medical professional places a sharp tool to the girl’s genitals and prepares to cut off her labia or clitoris. The practice is said to keep her vulva clean and reduce the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The tissue is cut. The infant girl’s face contorts with pain. Blood. Shrill screams pierce the room. She is given sugar water in an attempt to pacify. Later, parents are provided careful instructions as to how to care for the wound. They are told their daughter won’t remember the event. They are told that no harm was done. Following the procedure, hospitals sell the discarded tissue for profit commercially. Imagine that this occurs every 30 seconds in America.

Now, imagine that the baby is a boy.'