Funferal

Ireland to allow elective circumcisions

On 24 January the Irish Times reported that an expert committee had recommended that elective male circumcisions should be permitted in Ireland, and should be performed by surgeons.
Were there to be an ‘expert’ committee appointed, can we imagine it being recommended that elective female circumcision – or genital mutilation, as it is perhaps better known – be performed by surgeons in Irish hospitals? I would imagine not, though that is what has now been proposed in relation to male circumcision, which involves a similar affront to the bodily integrity of the individual.
While medical staff are, under the proposals, to have a right to ‘opt out’ of the ‘service’ surely it is the individuals on whom elective procedures, such as this, are being performed who are most in need of a right to informed consent or refusal.
Of course, the issue is somewhat complicated by the fact that the issue has come to light as a result of the growth in numbers in Ireland of groups with differing social and cultural mores. To what extent is it right for a host country – especially one that, in many respects, hues to the liberal/enlightenment approach – to impose its social norms on newcomers? What is the significance of the fact that circumcisions by ‘trained’ rabbi are already exempt/permitted? Using the FGM example may give a different answer than the question in the abstract, and it’s interesting to pass that result through to generally analogous situations. Responses are welcome below.