The American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB) has published a paper written by 91 mostly academic co-authors including Steven, the group being known collectively as “The Brussels Collaboration on Bodily Integrity,” named after a recent invitation-only conference on female genital cutting (FGC) held in Brussels, Belgium.

We believe this recent AJOB publication, especially considering the intellectual weight of the large and eminent group of co-authors, will meaningfully advance the discussion of the inconsistency with medical ethics of nonconsensual genital cutting. We also believe this article will move us ahead toward a unification of ethical views of all forms of genital cutting, without being unduly swayed in a particular case by whether the cutting is performed on a person who is male, female, or intersex.

Steven published two prior articles in the AJOB in 2003 and 2015, both of them written in response to pro-circumcision articles published by the journal.