In a first, the medical regulator has taken a doctor to tribunal after he circumcised a seven year old boy but allegedly "failed to involve the child in the decision-making process".
Nottingham GP Dr Balvinder Mehat is accused of misconduct after he allegedly also failed to obtain the father's consent before the procedure.
The National Secular Society, which campaigns to protect all children from forced genital cutting, welcomed the move. It said doctors "should defer all decisions about non-therapeutic circumcision until the individual is old enough to provide informed consent, based on his own values".
Boy left "in agony" following circumcision
The boy's mother asked Mehat to circumcise the boy for "spiritual and cultural reasons" in 2022. The parents were married but separated, and the father did not want the boy to be circumcised.
Guidance on religious circumcision from the medical regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), says doctors "should get the child's consent if they have the maturity and understanding to give it.
"If not, you should get consent from all those with parental responsibility."
Continue @ NSS.
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