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BC Issues Position Statement

From: J. Steven Svoboda
Date: 07 Dec 2002
Time: 19:30:51

Comments

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (that province's medical licensing authority) has issued a position statement on circumcision. While we can add this statement to the mountain of such policies attesting to the lack of medical justification for routine infant circumcision, this one unfortunately is nowhere near as strong as the statements issued earlier this year by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan as well as the RACP, and somewhat resembles the 1999 American Academy of Pediatrics statement in that it gives lip service to parents' "traditional, religious, cultural or personal preference. On the other hand, as noted by the Ontario-based Association for Genital Integrity, "the B.C. college has sent a signal to doctors that infant circumcision is a relic from the past which should be considered only if the parents can't be talked out of it. The college points up the cosmetic nature of the procedure and dismisses the arguments about UTI and HIV prevention as "no longer pertinent." http://www.cpsbc.ca/physician/quarterly/cq-38.pdf.

Steven