This is an interim statement. GMC issues guidelines on circumcision. We decided to review the issues raised by male circumcision as a result of a number of complaints made to us. These concerned doctors who had not provided an acceptable standards of practice when performing the procedure. We had also received a number of letters questioning the ethics of the procedure and asking for our views on whether, and in what circumstances, the procedure was acceptable, for either religious or therapeutic reasons.
Circumcision raises difficult questions about the rights and freedoms of individuals.
These are not primarily medical matters and we do not think they can be resolved by the medical profession alone. They are matters for society as a whole to decide. Nonetheless, we have a responsibility to protect patients and guide doctors, and we have therefore undertaken to provide guidance which sets out the principles of good medical practice for those doctors who are asked to perform circumcisions for religious or for medical reasons. In 1996 we invited views from religious organizations, anti-circumcision pressure groups, professional and patients' organisations, and civil rights and children's organisations on a preliminary draft of a guidance for doctors who are asked to perform male circumcision. Consultation Exercises - summary of responses Rights and Freedoms 4.