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Lawmakers hear hours of testimony on proposed Medicaid ban for non'therapeutic infant circumcision
Summary
Public testimony split across parents, medical professionals, advocates and religious leaders over a bill that would bar Medicaid reimbursement for non'therapeutic infant circumcision; witnesses debated medical necessity, informed consent, cultural and religious practice, and a controversial commercial market for foreskin tissue.
The House Health Committee heard multi-hour public testimony on House Bill 94-FN, which would bar public (Medicaid) reimbursement for non-therapeutic, neonatal circumcision unless the procedure is medically necessary.
Representative Julia Sauty, the bill's prime sponsor, framed the proposal as a health-care-spending and bodily-autonomy measure and said public funding should not be used for an elective, non-therapeutic removal of tissue from a child. "For Medicaid to pay for circumcision is an immoral taking of the child's bodily autonomy," she said.
Opponents and supporters offered sustained and often emotional testimony. Supporters who favor limiting Medicaid coverage argued that neonatal circumcision is not medically necessary for most boys, cited complication…
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