Will a doctor circumcise a 12 year old who doesn't want that done to him?

Question

My mom told us that since she is changing jobs and we will soon be without health insurance for a little while that she feels this is the best time to have my 12 year old brother circumcised. He said he doesn't want it. Will the doctor make him? If he tries to resist like he says he is going to what will happen? Will they shoot him out and cut him in his sleep?

He has had a couple of unirary tract infections in his life and mom said she didn't want to take him to the doctor for that without insurance. She said this would prevent it all together.

Answer 1

No, a doctor won't do it if he doesn't want it done. She should have had it done when he was an infant. Too bad for her. She'll have to fork out for any urinary tract infections which he may have had whether he was circumcized or not.

Answer 2

If your brother were 18 and refused to have the circumcision, the doctors absolutely could not perform it on him. Doctors may only act with informed consent of the patient, and your brother would be old enough to give informed consent. He would have a lovely lawsuit on his hands- civil battery and assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, etc.- and would probably be entitled to a college fund (plus some) of damages, if a doctor were to give him a circumcision without his consent.

However, In most parts of the US, there's a legal presumption that minors are incompetent to give informed consent. Their parents are given the power in their place.

Still, your brother DOES have a way out. If he doesn't want the circumcision, he should ask a court of law to issue a parens patriae order, which allows the court to dispense with parental consent in cases of refusal. The court steps in the place of your parents and determines what's in the child's best interest. Since a circumcision isn't medically necessary here, the court would likely issue an order allowing your brother to refuse one.

While circumcisions do substantially reduce the occurrence of urinary tract infections, so does extra attention to personal hygiene. Men with foreskin can attain all the benefits of a circumcision by being very particular and exacting in their hygiene, and doing so will spare them the potentially long-lasting trauma of a circumcision.

Answer 3

It is not altogether true that circumcision will prevent all UIs. In most cases children cannot make their own health care decisions. Do you have a dad? Your brother should talk with him. If not, what about a clergyman, school counselor, or even a lawyer? Is it possible your brother is only afraid of the procedure? Someone should find out his objections. Also 12 is kind of old for having this done.

Answer 4

Well if he isn't of legal age I think his mom has the final say. On the other hand, if he really doesn't want it done but your mom insists, they probably will put him under general anesthesia and do it. It only takes about 10 minutes and although he will be uncomfortable for a few days afterwards he'll be fine in the end. You may want to have your mom talk with the doctor first and explain to him how your brother is resisting getting it done. Maybe the doctor will take a few minutes to talk to your brother and reassure him everything will be alright. It may make him feel better and not so nervous.

Answer 5

Well lets see here, the "child" is under the age of 18. So whether the son wants it or not , the parent is doing what is in the best interest of her son, so later on in life he wont have more complications then they have now. My husband and I chose not have our sons circumsized at birth because my husband isnt, but wish now that we would have. His 1st Sgt. in the Army had it done at age 45. Before he gets older or infected or grown together , I think the age of 12 is a young enough age to have it done. I'm thinking about it myself for my 2 boys. The pain will pass, just as takin out tonsils or any other body part.

Answer 6

Wow. This is a touchy situation. As a minor, he technically has no rights in his medical treatments. However the doctors may refuse to perform the circumcision if they know the boy adamantly does not want it.

It is not a medical necessity. If I were your brother, I would definitely throw a major fit over this. If necessary, he can contact an attorney who could take legal action to prevent your mom from doing this to him.

Answer 7

He doesn't need to be circumcised .
Your mother needs to stop.
Why put him thought this pain because he has a occasional urinary infections ?
It's sound drastic to me and it may or not may work to stop him from having urinary infections.
Not ever man is circumcised and especially not younger men since people have realized it is not necessary.

Answer 8

What a horrible, horrible thing to do to a young boy. I can imagine no more of a traumatic event than a post-infancy circumcision. IF, and I emphasize IF, the foreskin had anything to do with the UTI's, it's only a hygeine issue. He needs to see a urologist that can show him how to properly clean himself.

Answer 9

You keep asking this! If he doesn't want it done he should contact some people for rights of the child or something (people gave you those answers) and make a fuss. It also depends where you live. personally I think you mother is sick and unintelligent for wanting to force this on him at all, even more so at his age and because of UTIs.

Answer 10

Tell your mother that what she is doing to him can have some serious psychological damage. Countless articles have been published concerning this issue. While your mother has the legal right to do it, she should really consider his emotional well being. Additionally, proper cleaning of the foreskin can eliminate the chances for infections.