I think the obvious stance to take with such a thing is to never do anything that has unjustified permanent effects without consent.

And infants can't consent.

Yes, I'd say it was right to stop things that were harmful or where there wasn't a good reason to override consent. Otherwise you could pretty much justify anything.

Or, to put it another way, if a child had been subject to foot binding, or FGM, or circumcision, or whatever, and then desired that their permanent body alteration hadn't have occurred, what should the penalty for the parents be?

I mean, I'd I had hadn't face tattooed as an infant, or something, I'd think myself justified seeking recompense against my parents.

Inuit girls in some groups receive face tattoos when they reach menarche. This should be banned?
edit:
We seem to be diverging on whether right and wrong are absolute or are cultural. It may depend on the issue but cultures make the rules. We happen to live in western liberal democracies and that informs our sense of right and wrong. Those could be considered biases by other cultures. Who is the ultimate umpire here?

(September 7, 2023 at 2:05 pm)Nanny Wrote: Inuit girls in some groups receive face tattoos when they reach menarche. This should be banned?
edit:
We seem to be diverging on whether right and wrong are absolute or are cultural. It may depend on the issue but cultures make the rules. We happen to live in western liberal democracies and that informs our sense of right and wrong. Those could be considered biases by other cultures. Who is the ultimate umpire here?

Cultural mores may be regnant, but that doesn't necessarily make them ethical.

(September 7, 2023 at 2:35 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: Cultural mores  may be regnant, but that doesn't necessarily make them ethical.

Ethics are cultural constructs and evolve over time.

edit - I don't mean that in a sassy way. Culture always determines what is ethical. It's the mirror culture holds to itself. But this is off topic for this thread.

(September 7, 2023 at 2:05 pm)Nanny Wrote: Inuit girls in some groups receive face tattoos when they reach menarche. This should be banned?
edit:
We seem to be diverging on whether right and wrong are absolute or are cultural. It may depend on the issue but cultures make the rules. We happen to live in western liberal democracies and that informs our sense of right and wrong. Those could be considered biases by other cultures. Who is the ultimate umpire here?

Right and wrong are just strongly held preferences at bottom.

But it seems society works better when things like consent and harm are held as basic ethical principles.

Ultimately, I just want that. There's nothing metaphysical about it.

Typical Internet give and take. We go from circumcision to facial tattoos on babies. Not a helpful leap.

My son was circumcised and honestly I didn't know it was optional. Even in my wild and wooly youth I only encountered one man who was uncircumcised.

It took years for me to put the pieces together with my brother. He was just a few weeks old and mom took my sister and me with her to see the pediatrician with my brother. I was 9, my sister was 3. We sat in the room while my brother screamed and cried. Mom claimed later that the original circumcision was somewhat botched though I wouldn't doubt her drunk ass screwed something up. That day in the doctor's office the pediatrician was trying to fix it. It wasn't till after having my son that I put those bits and pieces of memories together. That and a friend who was a labor and delivery nurse said she would give her son (if she ever had one) a few drops of wine before the procedure.

Now that you know, would you elect to have your son cut?