In some ways, it’s easy to point at other countries and find proof of how to do things correctly. We’re not perfect, so such analysis can be beneficial. It can also be used as a blunt weapon against the United States. “Anything American is bad”, which could just as easily come from an American as another country’s citizens. Then something comes along to show that, just like brilliance, stupidity knows no bounds. We’re not perfect, but no one is.
About one in three healthy baby boys is circumcised on Prince Edward Island, about double the national rate, despite the advice of experts who describe it as unnecessary and potentially risky.
The story offers a little analysis, which is useful (and obvious). That’s not the heart of the story, though. This is:
Dr. Doug Tweel is one of the few Island doctors who perform circumcisions.
“There are many procedures done in the hospital setting that are elective procedures,” said Tweel.
“If you’re coming at it from that perspective, I can give you a lot of procedures that are not medically necessary.”
By virtue of the “Dr.” before his name, I assume Dr. Tweel is an intelligent individual. But, really, can anyone be so mind-numbingly simple? No kidding he can name a lot of procedures that are not medically necessary. Any idiot could do the same. Examples abound all over society in the United States, so I assume the situation is the same in Canada. But how many of these elective, medically unnecessary surgeries do we allow to be performed on infants, at parental request? One, which Dr. Tweel knows. Unless the reporter omitted further comments to the contrary, he seems uninterested in that perspective. As long as we perform it on someone, everyone should be eligible to have it done. Even when it’s forced on them for someone else’s reason.