Refusals to perform ritual circumcision: a qualitative study of doctors' professional and ethical reasoning.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Ritual circumcision of infant boys is controversial in Norway, as in many other countries. The procedure became a part of Norwegian public health services in 2015. A new law opened for conscientious objection to the procedure. We have studied physicians' refusals to perform ritual circumcision as an issue of professional ethics. METHOD:Qualitative interview study with 10 urologists who refused to perform ritual circumcision from six Norwegian public hospitals. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analysed with systematic text condensation, a qualitative analysis framework. RESULTS:The physicians are unanimous in grounding their opposition to the procedure in professional standards and norms, based on fundamental tenets of professional ethics. While there is homogeneity

SUBMITTER: Litleskare LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6954583 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature