Monday, August 29, 2005

Libertarians Against Infant Circumcision?

Much to some people's surprise, not all American women are in favor of lopping off bits of infant boys on the basis of dubious health benefits. I for, one, have libertarian objections to such things; if there are health benefits to be had, waiting until the boy becomes a man (or at least a teen who can make an informed choice) seems logical, since most of them allegedly pertain to STD transmission. Then again, perhaps I'm just sympathetic to the plight of persons subjected to childhood alterations of the flesh, since my mother had my ears pierced against my will at age seven. Some people even have ear piercing done to newborn girls. While this is a less substantial alteration than circumcision, Andrew Sullivan's assertion that subjecting young girls to the knife or needle for aesthetic reasons would be beyond the pale neglects this all too common phenomenon.
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