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Dear Prof. MacDonald:

I write to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence of October 25, 1999 addressed to the undersigned.

I have taken the liberty of referring your correspondence to Dr. R. Cooper, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Paediatrics of the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Dr. Cooper has informed me that your correspondence will be considered by the Paediatrics Department. He has indicated that he will write to me again following his consultation with his colleagues in the Department of Paediatrics.

I undertake to have this matter discussed by the Medical Board and to write to you in the not too distant future regarding the Medical Board's position.

Sincerely yours,
 
[signed]
 
Robert W. Young, MD, FRCPC
Registrar
 

Dear Dr. Bhimji:

Firstly let me apologize for the delay in responding to your correspondence of December 16, 1999.

Following receipt of your correspondence the Medical Board sought the opinions of medical practitioners in the discipline of Paediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University in Newfoundland. The Medical Board also reviewed the 1999 circumcision policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the statement of the Canadian Paediatric Society which was approved in 1996.

The Medical Board respects your views on this issue and acknowledges your legitimate opinion. The Medical Board however acknowledges that there are others both within and without the medical profession who do not share your views and who have an opinion that infant male circumcision is an acceptable surgical procedure under certain circumstances.

The above noted statement of the Canadian Paediatric Society stated in part:

• When circumcision is performed, appropriate attention needs to be paid to pain relief;
   
• The overall evidence of the benefits and harms of circumcision is so evenly balanced that the evidence does not support recommending circumcision as a routine procedure for newborns;
   
• When parents are making a decision about circumcision, they should be advised of the present state of medical knowledge about its benefits and harms. Their decision may ultimately be based on personal, religious, or cultural factors.

Sincerely yours,
 
[signed]
 
Robert W. Young, MD, FRCPC
Registrar

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