Ontario boy dies after complications from circumcision
A one-week-old Ontario infant died from complications after undergoing a circumcision in a provincial hospital. The baby, whose name has been withheld by the parents, passed away after his kidneys became enlarged to seven times their normal size.
The child was born at an unidentified Ontario hospital and the doctors said that he was born sometime in the last three years and the family wants to keep it anonymous. According to the Pediatric Child Health article, the boy was “bottle-fed” and was reported to be doing well when he was circumcised. Five hours later, the parents returned to their family doctor with the infant, who had become “irritable and had blue discoloration” below the belly button. Doctors noticed the discoloration and slight swelling of the penis, but sent the child home.
Fourteen hours after the circumcision, according to the parents, the child was brought to another hospital where doctors noted he was extremely irritable with marked swelling of the penis and bruising to the scrotum. The child was then transferred to a pediatric centre, where his bladder was diagnosed, doctors said that it was even or eight times its normal size. “If the Plastic Bell had been taken off five hours after he got there, he would be alive,” said Doctors. The child’s death was attributed to septic shock — “an overwhelming infection, leading to multi-organ failure.” The case was brought to Cairns’ attention because the circumstances of every death of an Ontario child under five years of age must be reviewed by the provincial coroner’s office. When the parents were asked about the reason of circumcision they said the following: “It’s our religious practice and we can’t ignore it. We have our rights to follow our own religious practices.” When the case was brought to the court, it involved a doctor accused of carrying out a circumcision on a week-old child that led to medical complications. The doctor was acquitted, however, and prosecutors said they won't appeal. As this was a Jews child, the leader of the Jews called the ruling "unprecedented and insensitive," urging the country's parliament to clarify the legal situation "to protect religious freedom against attacks." The hearings of this case are still going on in the courts of Canada, but the child has yet not got justice.
After reading this case, the first thing which strikes my mind was this: Female genital circumcision is totally banned in Canada even if the procedure takes place due to religious traditions. Thus, the girls are protected against circumcision. But on the same issue, there are no protections for the boys and infants. Muslims are still the largest single religious group to circumcise boys. In Canada female circumcision is totally banned but, yet there is prevalence of male circumcision. There are yet many Muslim boys in Canada who are being circumcised on a daily basis. The main reason given for the ritual is cleanliness.
I am continually baffled at the seemingly endless array of problems that routine infant circumcision is supposed to “cure” or “prevent.” First it was masturbation in the Victorian era, then cancer, then HIV and now cancer again. The procedure itself does not treat any medical condition in infants and children and is therefore unethical, as removing healthy, normal, functional tissue from an infant for no medical reason is a clear violation of the doctor’s oath to “do no harm.”
Girls in this country are protected from having any part of their genitals removed or altered without medical necessity but to refuse the same protection to baby boys is sex-based discrimination. Circumcising a boy without a just reason is a clear violation of charter rights and freedoms. Even though male circumcision is banned in many of the other countries, it is yet not banned in Canada. Although the girls of Canada are protected from circumcision, the boys are yet not protected from being the victim of
diverse array of traditional, religious, and cultural customs is practiced cross-culturally throughout the world. Female circumcision, also known as Female genital mutilation, or female genital cutting is a custom that has sparked controversy among many people belonging to other cultures not accustomed to the practice. They have presented the question of whether female circumcision is a practice that should be advocated or even allowed at all. My view is that the notion of basic human rights and gender…
Exploratory Draft on the Negative Affects of Infant Male Involuntary Circumcision The issue I am writing about is the routine circumcision of infant males. There are several reasons why this is a problem. One primary reason I believe this to be a problem is the fact that this act removes the choice of the person to have the procedure done on their own terms at a later time in their lives. There are several medical detriments that are dangerous, harmful and even fatal in some cases. The most…
Male circumcision has long been a debate with decisions based on cultural, ethnic, religious and social preference of the parent. There are both benefits and risks associated with the procedure of male circumcision. The procedure involves the removal of some or, the entire foreskin around the penis. Neonatal circumcision is rising among English speaking countries and it is known now that more than 80% of the male population has been circumcised. (CDC, 2006) This number is rising however; studies…
Name: Course: Tutor: Institution: Date: The covenant of circumcision Circumcision, from the male perspective, is the surgical removal of the foreskin. The covenant of circumcision is a covenant that Christians and Jews believe that God instructed Abraham to do as a sign between Him and Abraham and his descendants. Abraham circumcised all the male members of his household. He was ninety-nine years old then and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old (Genesis 17:24-25). They were both circumcised…
Erin Barksdale Circumcision: A Male and Female Human Rights Issue In 1891, P. C. Remondino, MD wrote a book advocating circumcision to prevent and also to cure things such alcoholism, asthma, epilepsy, curving spines, hernias, gout, rheumatism, and even headaches (Macris). A few hundred years later, in most English speaking countries, genital mutations were initially accepted into culture as a way to prevent masturbation (Macris). As these theories were disproved, a various amount of medical…
Disease in the News: Aids Curbing Circumcision Device Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome has been around for many years. The study to find a cure or suppressant for the disease continues. All kinds of invention are being tested to lower the number of victims this epidemic takes over every day. He hopes for finding a cure is far away but the hopes for finding a suppressor gets closer to success. No one really has any idea of where Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome started. Individuals have only…
Female Circumcision Aminata Diop escaped from her home in Mali to Paris in an attempt to avoid female circumcision, seeking political and religious asylum for all women and young girls the widely spread practice affected. Aminata’s mother was very disappointed when she heard of her daughter’s refusal to be excised; she pleaded to Aminata that she had been circumcised and if her child had not undergone the tradition also it would be very shameful and embarrassing for the family. As many other…
will be giving you facts about female circumcision having to deal with religion, culture, and the procedures. I will also be giving my opinion on female circumcision. Although this isn’t the first thing you are anxious to read about, it is informative. Although female circumcision is not an issue we often hear about in the U.S it does happen and it is something that is interesting to be educated about. There are three major procedures used for female circumcision and known as female genital mutation…
practiced predominantly in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where in certain areas it has acquired a religious dimension due to the justification that the practice is used to ensure female chastity. Female genital mutilation or female circumcision as it is sometimes known is defined by the World Health Organization as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." It is practiced…
usually far more radical than male circumcision. There is a sort of « emotional package » around initiation : The fact that the actual content of initiation rituals are very vague for non-initiated explains that their fears are less important than the desire to be accepted into the community, to be marriageable or the fear to endure pressure or discrimination for not being initiated. In reality once initiated the hardness of pain…