Amazon Pulls Circumcision Training Kit From Store After Ethical Concerns

In the latest instance of an online retailer removing an arguably ill-advised product, Amazon has halted sales of a home circumcision training kit in the United Kingdom, Metro reported. The kit, which was still on sale in the United States, was listed for $192 and came with an artificial baby’s lower torso area with a variety of attachable genitalia in different sizes and shapes.

According to Metro, Amazon disabled UK shipping for the circumcision training kit after the National Secular Society wrote to the company and said it could “encourage people with no medical qualifications to carry out potential life-threatening procedures at home.” Circumcision, which is most commonly practiced by faiths like Judaism, has been a hot-button topic of debate in the medical world for years regarding its potential benefits, dangers and necessity.

The NSS, being an organization dedicated to the separation of church and state (which is not required in the UK), feels circumcision for non-therapeutic or non-medical reasons is unethical. Per Metro’s report, even the British Medical Association, which does not have an official stance on circumcision, recommends against people who are not medical professionals carrying out the procedure.

The product page on Amazon does not make any reference to home circumcision or training non-professionals to perform circumcisions at all. The marketing copy called it “an excellent addition to your classroom," and implies it is meant for training prospective medical professionals rather than normal civilians. Still, circumcision opponents argued it was irresponsible for a large, popular online retailer like Amazon to sell it.

The ethics and legality of circumcision have been widely debated over the years, with different countries and cultures offering takes on the issue. In 2016, the government of Denmark declared circumcision of boys to be a human right, while circumcision of girls is prohibited, Business Insider reported. This decision was made despite a large majority of the Danish population reportedly being against the practice, but some in Denmark’s Jewish community felt a law against circumcision could have been anti-Semitic, per BI’s report.