Myers Alex, Earp Brian D
Department of Philosophy, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Yale-Hastings Program in Ethics and Health Policy, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Bioethics. 2020 Sep;34(7):645-663. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12714. Epub 2020 Feb 18.
Circumcision is often claimed to be simpler, safer and more cost-effective when performed in the neonatal period as opposed to later in life, with a greater benefit-to-risk ratio. In the first part of this paper, we critically examine the evidence base for these claims, and find that it is not as robust as is commonly assumed. In the second part, we demonstrate that, even if one simply grants these claims for the sake of argument, it still does not follow that neonatal circumcision is ethically permissible absent urgent medical necessity. Based on a careful consideration of the relevant evidence, arguments and counterarguments, we conclude that medically unnecessary penile circumcision-like other medically unnecessary genital procedures, such as 'cosmetic' labiaplasty-should not be performed on individuals who are too young (or otherwise unable) to provide meaningful consent to the procedure.
与在生命后期进行包皮环切术相比，通常认为在新生儿期进行包皮环切术更简单、更安全且更具成本效益，且受益风险比更高。在本文的第一部分，我们批判性地审视了这些说法的证据基础，发现其并不像通常认为的那样有力。在第二部分，我们表明，即使仅仅为了论证而承认这些说法，在没有紧急医疗必要性的情况下，也不能得出新生儿包皮环切术在伦理上是允许的结论。基于对相关证据、论点和反论点的仔细考虑，我们得出结论：与其他非医学必要的生殖器手术（如“美容”阴唇整形术）一样，对于太小（或因其他原因无法）对该手术给予有意义同意的个体，不应进行非医学必要的阴茎包皮环切术。
