Sexual Morality - Essay Example

Female Genital Mutilation Female genital mutilation has been a common practice in African and Asian countries. It involves the circumcision of young girls and women in the society. The practice has been known to be against basic ethics of health care and human rights (Momoh, 2005). But some countries still practice it as a way to honor and justify their culture. Thus, an issue that all the practitioners should clearly take into consideration is the ethical implication of the practice.To begin with, research shows that in the field of medicine, female genital mutilation is unethical and illegal.

Thus, performing FGM would be like acting against the medical ethics. This is because it is considered to be an unnecessary surgical procedure. Scholars in the medicine field provide that medicine is meant to treat individuals and save their lives from harmful diseases and not to put their lives in danger. Yet, performing of female genital mutilation endangers the life of women and not saving it in any way (Denniston, Hodges, Milos, 1999). According to Momoh 2005, Female Genital Mutilation is also considered as a practice that is against medical ethics because in most cases, it is practiced by inexperienced and lay practitioners.

These so called traditional doctors are completely unfamiliar with the safe methods of performing surgeries and don’t even know how to stop accidents such as hemorrhaging. The standards of medicine clearly indicate that complicated procedures such as surgery are only to be performed by experienced and qualified professionals.The practice of FGM is also unethical in terms of the personal rights of an individual. Most of the young girls who undergo female genital mutilation do not do it out of their own free will.

Most are forced by the community to undertake the cut. Thus, they are not allowed to uphold their human rights. The girls and women who undergo FGM have their bodily rights to integrity violated. Those who die in the process are also denied their right to life (Momoh, 2005). The pain inflicted on the women while undergoing the procedure is also a violation of their rights. In my opinion, no one deserves to undergo such suffering in the name of customs and traditions.The moral judgment of people concerning female genital mutilation is that it up holds the social morality of the community.

Many people especially in the African countries are have not yet embraced modernization and are still locked up in traditions. They therefore treasure societal norms so much and consider it disrespect and violation when an individual resists the cut. Thus, they take the FGM procedure to be part of the community morals (Rahman & Toubia, 2000)In my opinion however, FGM does not constitute morality. It is a cruel, inhuman and dangerous culture that should be abolished (Karanja, 2003). I therefore strongly support the utilitarian theory that states that all humans deserve to be happy and the actions to be inflicted on them are to be determined by the consequences.

The theory also emphasizes on the integrity of a person in all their actions. (MacKinnon, 20102) In my opinion therefore, I would translate this to mean that all actions that are to be done to a person should be leading to his or her happiness and should also ensure they do not lower his or her integrity. ReferencesDenniston, G. C., Hodges, F. M., & Milos, M. F. (1999). Male and Female Circumcision: Medical, Legal, and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice. New York: Springer. Karanja, D. N. (2003).

Female Genital Mutilation in Africa. Michigan, U.S.A: Xulon Press. MacKinnon, B. (2011). Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, Concise Edition. (2nd ed.). United States: Momoh, C. (2005). Female Genital Mutilation. Oxon, United Kingdom: Radcliffe Publishing. Rahman, A., & Toubia, N. (2000). Female Genital Mutilation: A Practical Guide to Worldwide Laws & Policies. New York: Zed Books.