Legality of Circumcision: The United States of
America
This page indexes and links discussions of the position of
male and female circumcision under the law in the United
States of America.
In December 2004, Edwin Bruce Baxter was convicted in
Clark County, Washington of second degree child assault
because he attempted to circumcise his eight-year-old son
(State v. Edwin Bruce Baxter, case no. 04-1-01764-5.) He was
sentenced to serve 36 months in jail.23
Library Holdings
- William E. Brigman. Circumcision as Child
Abuse: The Legal and Constitutional Issues, 23 J
Fam Law 337 (1985).
- American Academy of Pediatrics
Committee on Bioethics. Informed consent, parental
permission, and assent in pediatric practice.
Pediatrics 1995;95(2):314-317.
- Robert S. Van Howe MD FAAP. Can Informed
Consent be Obtained?
- David J. Llewellyn JD. Legal
Remedies for Penile Torts. The Compleat Mother,
Winter 1995.
- Richard Angell. Letter. San Jose Mercury News,
December, 1996.
- NorthDakota1
13-Jun-96 01:04 13K
- NorthDakota2
13-Jun-96 22:16 7K
- Voskuil-ND
27-Feb-96 15:47 23K
- bismarck-tribune1 03-May-96
10:07 3K
- Mohel Sued
- Supreme Court strikes down
religion immunity. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
Thursday, June 26, 1997.
- Abbie J. Chessler, Justifying the
Unjustifable: Rite v. Wrong, 45 Buffalo L. Rev. 555
(1997).
- Doriane Lambelet Coleman, The Seattle Compromise: Multicultural
Sensitivity and Americanization, 47 DUKE L.J. 717, 739 (1998).
- Ross Povenmire. Do Parents Have the
Legal Authority to Consent to the Surgical Amputation of
Normal, Healthy Tissue From Their Infant Children?: The
Practice of Circumcision in the United States. 7
Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law 87
(1998-1999).
- Shea Lita Bond. Female Circumcision and the
Equal Protection Clause. 32 John Marshall L. Rev.
353 (1999).
- J. Steven Svoboda, Robert S.
Van Howe, James G. Dwyer, Informed Consent for
Neonatal Circumcision: An Ethical and Legal
Conundrum. 17 J Contemporary Health Law Policy 61
(2000).
- Dena S. Davis. Male
and Female Genital Alteration: A Collision Course with the
Law? 11 Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine 487
(2001).
- Canning DA. Informed consent for
neonatal circumcision: an ethical and legal conundrum.
J Urol 2002;168 (4 Pt 1): 1650-1.
- Geoffrey P. Miller. Circumcision: Cultural-Legal
Analysis. 9 Va. J. Soc. Pol'y & L. 497 (2002).
- Patricia L. Martin. Moving Toward An International Standard
In Informed Consent: The Impact Of Intersexuality And The
Internet On The Standard Of Care. 9 Duke J. Gender
L. & Pol'y 135 (2003).
- Sarah E. Waldeck. Using
Circumcision to Understand Social Norms. 72
University of Cincinnati Law Rev 455 (2003).
- Kate Haas. Who will make room for
the intersexed? 30 Am J Law Med 41 (2004).
- Stephanie Rice. Circumcision
Attempt—Father sentenced to three years. The
Columbian, Vancouver, Washington, Thursday, December
16, 2004.
- State v. Baxter. Washington Court of
Appeal, Division Two. Case No. 32766-0-II, August 15,
2006.
- Boldt v. Boldt. Supreme Court of
Oregon, Case No. SC S054714, January 25, 2008.
- Peter W. Adler. Is it lawful to use Medicaid to pay for
circumcision. 19 J. Law Med. 335 (2011)
- Peter W. Adler. Is Circumcision Legal? 16(3) Richmond
J. L. & Pub. Int. 439 (2013).