Remove the members of the AAP Task Force on Circumcision from the AAP

The Issue

The surgical removal of healthy tissue from a non-consenting patient with no medical necessity violates both medical ethics and the basic human right to bodily autonomy. All humans, male and female, have the right to choose for themselves if they want to remove parts of their genitals. The genital integrity of a person belongs to themselves, not their parents. Despite these inarguable facts, the AAP has taken a positive stance on infant circumcision for males. The AAP Infant Circumcision Policy has been formally rejected by the Pediatric Associations of Austria, Britain, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands and by senior pediatricians in Canada, the Czech Republic, France and Poland. It is clear that the AAP's stance is a global outlier, and to be condemned. The members of the Task Force are Susan Blank, Michael Brady, Ellen Buerk, Waldemar Carlo, Douglas Diekema, Andrew Freedman, Lynne Maxwell, and Steven Wegner. These persons should be distanced from the AAP and it should be made publicly clear that their opinions are not representative of pediatricians. These persons have embarrassed our country on the world stage of pediatricians and should be reprimanded for their lack of ethics.

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The Issue

The surgical removal of healthy tissue from a non-consenting patient with no medical necessity violates both medical ethics and the basic human right to bodily autonomy. All humans, male and female, have the right to choose for themselves if they want to remove parts of their genitals. The genital integrity of a person belongs to themselves, not their parents. Despite these inarguable facts, the AAP has taken a positive stance on infant circumcision for males. The AAP Infant Circumcision Policy has been formally rejected by the Pediatric Associations of Austria, Britain, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands and by senior pediatricians in Canada, the Czech Republic, France and Poland. It is clear that the AAP's stance is a global outlier, and to be condemned. The members of the Task Force are Susan Blank, Michael Brady, Ellen Buerk, Waldemar Carlo, Douglas Diekema, Andrew Freedman, Lynne Maxwell, and Steven Wegner. These persons should be distanced from the AAP and it should be made publicly clear that their opinions are not representative of pediatricians. These persons have embarrassed our country on the world stage of pediatricians and should be reprimanded for their lack of ethics.

The Decision Makers

The American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics
AAP Headquarters
The American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics
Department of Federal Affairs
Deandra Galarde
Deandra Galarde
Communications Coordinator
Gina Steiner
Gina Steiner
Director of Public Information

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