Thanks for an interesting new cause area! I found myself feeling uneasy about a potential controversy here, so here are my 2 cents on the matter.
The large elephant that remains unaddressed in this analysis is that circumcision is done in large part for religious reasons. In Israel at least, any policy or procedural changes toward intactivism are likely very hard and will encounter a lot of resistance.
More broadly, taking actions on causes that are explicitly against other people’s moral agenda is risky for the reputation of the people involved or the EA movement if it’s done under that name. If this cause does in fact appear promising under further investigation, I recommend whoever might take action on this to consult with CEA.
That said, I think it is very important to figure out the most promising causes and how to do the most good, even if the results might clash with other people’s beliefs. So again, thanks for raising and argumenting for a potentially controversial cause.
In the United States, Canada, and South Korea, the vast majority of circumcisions are secular and performed in hospitals. They persist for social reasons, hospitals operating for profit, and because of various health myths, rather than because of religion. Personally, I am circumcised, and my father is an atheist.
As for specific policy changes, I will admit that reducing religious circumcision among Jews and Muslims is much more intractable than reducing secular circumcisions among Americans, and an outright ban is almost impossible. Efforts toward reducing circumcision don’t necessarily have to involve any policy changes at all. Educating people and spreading the word would likely be effective at convincing a significant portion of the population to not circumcise their sons. I think the most realistic policy change that could bring down the circumcision rate in the US is to cease Medicaid/health insurance funding for circumcisions. Something similar already exists in Australia. Circumcision is banned in Australian public hospitals, but parents can still go to private hospitals to have their sons circumcised. Jews, for instance, would still be able to hold a traditional bris ceremony legally, but anyone who wants to circumcise their son would be forced to pay out of pocket for it. It could also potentially save taxpayers a significant amount of money.
For Jews, there’s an alternative to the traditional bris ceremony practiced by a minority of Jews called the brit shalom. For Christians, hereis a website I found with information about the Biblical view of circumcision. Historically, virtually no Christians practiced circumcision, and the practice only started becoming a common occurrence among American Christians during the late 1800s.
Thanks for an interesting new cause area! I found myself feeling uneasy about a potential controversy here, so here are my 2 cents on the matter.
The large elephant that remains unaddressed in this analysis is that circumcision is done in large part for religious reasons. In Israel at least, any policy or procedural changes toward intactivism are likely very hard and will encounter a lot of resistance.
More broadly, taking actions on causes that are explicitly against other people’s moral agenda is risky for the reputation of the people involved or the EA movement if it’s done under that name. If this cause does in fact appear promising under further investigation, I recommend whoever might take action on this to consult with CEA.
That said, I think it is very important to figure out the most promising causes and how to do the most good, even if the results might clash with other people’s beliefs. So again, thanks for raising and argumenting for a potentially controversial cause.
In the United States, Canada, and South Korea, the vast majority of circumcisions are secular and performed in hospitals. They persist for social reasons, hospitals operating for profit, and because of various health myths, rather than because of religion. Personally, I am circumcised, and my father is an atheist.
As for specific policy changes, I will admit that reducing religious circumcision among Jews and Muslims is much more intractable than reducing secular circumcisions among Americans, and an outright ban is almost impossible. Efforts toward reducing circumcision don’t necessarily have to involve any policy changes at all. Educating people and spreading the word would likely be effective at convincing a significant portion of the population to not circumcise their sons. I think the most realistic policy change that could bring down the circumcision rate in the US is to cease Medicaid/health insurance funding for circumcisions. Something similar already exists in Australia. Circumcision is banned in Australian public hospitals, but parents can still go to private hospitals to have their sons circumcised. Jews, for instance, would still be able to hold a traditional bris ceremony legally, but anyone who wants to circumcise their son would be forced to pay out of pocket for it. It could also potentially save taxpayers a significant amount of money.
For Jews, there’s an alternative to the traditional bris ceremony practiced by a minority of Jews called the brit shalom. For Christians, hereis a website I found with information about the Biblical view of circumcision. Historically, virtually no Christians practiced circumcision, and the practice only started becoming a common occurrence among American Christians during the late 1800s.