The legal status of infant male circumcision

Lenta, P; Poltera, J

The legal status of infant male circumcision

Lenta, P

Poltera, J

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Publisher:: Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Legal Philosophy, 2020, 45, (1), pp. 27-48
Issue Date:: 2020-11-18

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Lenta, P https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4061-4376
dc.contributor.author	Poltera, J
dc.date.accessioned	2021-01-22T05:35:58Z
dc.date.available	2021-01-22T05:35:58Z
dc.date.issued	2020-11-18
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Legal Philosophy, 2020, 45, (1), pp. 27-48
dc.identifier.issn	2633-6847
dc.identifier.issn	2633-6855
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/145554
dc.description.abstract	<jats:p>We present an argument in support of the legal prohibition of infant male circumcision (IMC) in developed Western countries. We submit that all IMC, irrespective of whether the motivation behind it be secular or religious, violates children’s rights to self-determination (autonomy) and bodily integrity and is therefore morally illegitimate. And while IMC’s being morally wrong does not entail that it ought to be criminalised, we contend that it should be legally proscribed so as to protect children against harm and to uphold their rights. We consider and reject an argument that an exemption from the legal ban should be granted to religious parents who perceive themselves to be under a moral obligation to subject their male infants to IMC. We argue that since IMC sets back children’s basic interests and violates their rights, there is no room, and no case, for the conferring of a religious exemption.</jats:p>
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Edward Elgar Publishing
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Legal Philosophy
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.4337/jlp.2020.01.02
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	1801 Law, 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields
dc.title	The legal status of infant male circumcision
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	45
utslib.for	1801 Law
utslib.for	2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2021-01-22T05:35:34Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	45
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

We present an argument in support of the legal prohibition of infant male circumcision (IMC) in developed Western countries. We submit that all IMC, irrespective of whether the motivation behind it be secular or religious, violates children’s rights to self-determination (autonomy) and bodily integrity and is therefore morally illegitimate. And while IMC’s being morally wrong does not entail that it ought to be criminalised, we contend that it should be legally proscribed so as to protect children against harm and to uphold their rights. We consider and reject an argument that an exemption from the legal ban should be granted to religious parents who perceive themselves to be under a moral obligation to subject their male infants to IMC. We argue that since IMC sets back children’s basic interests and violates their rights, there is no room, and no case, for the conferring of a religious exemption.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/145554