This house would ban cosmetic surgery

The distinction between cosmetic surgery and other types of surgery such as reconstructive surgery is that cosmetic
surgery involves techniques intended for the 'enhancement' of appearance. Cosmetic surgery involves both surgical and
medical techniques and it is specifically concerned with maintaining normal appearance, restoring it, or enhancing it
beyond the average level toward some aesthetic ideal. Cosmetic procedures have grown in popularity dramatically, in
2006, nearly 11 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States alone. The number of cosmetic
procedures performed in the United States has increased over 50 percent since the start of the century. Nearly 12 million
cosmetic procedures were performed in 2007. In Europe, the second largest market for cosmetic procedures, cosmetic
surgery is a $2.2 billion business. Cosmetic surgery is now very common in countries such as the United Kingdom, France,
and Germany. In Asia, cosmetic surgery has become an accepted practice; currently most widely prevalent and normal in
China where it is currently Asia's biggest cosmetic surgery market1. Proponents argue that the risks inherent in surgery
that is not medically necessary are too great and that women are merely succumbing to the pressures of men. Opponents,
in contrast, argue women have a right to choose both how they look and what methods they choose to get to how they
look. This debate will examine whether cosmetic surgery should be banned.
PROS
NO
1

POINT

COUNTERPOINTS

Cosmetic surgery can be psychologically damaging

The compulsion to change one's body is often a symptom
of a deeper mental instability. It should be treated as a
problem, not encouraged with surgery. Research indicating
that breast augmentation patients are four times more
likely to commit suicide compared to other plastic surgery
patients raises questions about the mental health of
women who choose implants1. It's only a plaster patched
over a much deeper problem. There are also studies that

However, the vast majority of people who have cosmetic

surgery have one procedure and never look back.
They're made happier and more secure in themselves
because of it. In fact, the same study by social worker
Roberta Honigman and psychiatrists Katherine Phillips,
MD, and David Castle, MD, also suggested positive
outcomes in some patients, including improvements in
body image and possibly a boost in their quality of life

show negative psychological effects on patients after their

surgery has been completed. For example, a recent
analysis 37 studies on patients' psychological and
psychosocial functioning before and after cosmetic surgery
by social worker Roberta Honigman and psychiatrists
Katherine Phillips, MD, and David Castle, MD, found several
predictors of poor outcomes, especially for those who hold
unrealistic expectations or have a history of depression
and anxiety. The researchers found that patients who are
dissatisfied with surgery may request repeat procedures or
experience depression and adjustment problems, social
isolation, family problems, self-destructive behaviours and
anger towards the surgeon and his or her staff 2.

as well1. Therefore, it would be wrong to say that

cosmetic surgery can be psychologically damaging as a
rule. Many studies have shown that patients have higher
self-esteem after surgery. For example, in a recent study
by Sarwer found that a year after receiving cosmetic
surgery, 87 per cent of patients reported satisfaction
following their surgery, including improvements in their
overall body image and the body feature altered. They
also experienced less negative body image emotions in
social situations2.

The dangers involved in elective surgery are not

worth the risk

The risks of cosmetic surgery are negligible.In actual

fact, the American Society of Plastic Surgery estimates
that there is 1 death in 57,000 procedures, while a study
in the medical journal Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery put the mortality rate slightly higher, at about
one in 51,459 operations.[1] To put this in perspective,
your chances of being injured in a motor vehicle
accident are about 1 in 1,000 in any given year and
there is about 1 maternal death for every 7692 live
births.[2] Therefore cosmetic surgery is a lot safer than
people perceive. Furthermore, cosmetic surgery is
becoming safer and safer. It is increasingly strictly
policed and sky-high legal pay-outs by bad surgeons
have ensured that practitioners take more and more
care.[3] Technology in surgery and in implants and so
forth is forever improving. For example, new non-

Sometimes we must accept those dangers, as they come

in the course of necessary medical procedures. But with
elective surgery procedures people dont need, but rather
merely want the risks cant be justified. These risks apply
both to the surgery itself, and to the long term. For
example, leaking silicone breast implants have been a
widespread problem and can lead to death. Silicone gel
can leak from the implant into healthy breast tissue and go
other parts of your body, such as the lungs and lymph
nodes, where it could be impossible to remove. Studies
published in 2001 by scientists at the National Cancer
Institute raised questions about the long-term safety of
breast implants. One study found that women who had

breast implants for at least eight years were twice as likely

to die from brain cancer, three times as likely to die from
lung cancer or other respiratory diseases, and four times
as likely to commit suicide, compared to other plastic
surgery patients A second study found that women with
breast implants for at least eight years were 21% more
likely to be diagnosed with cancer compared to other
women their age.[1] There is also the risk that the person
having the surgery will be dissatisfied with the results.

invasive procedures are being developed such as

Liposonix and UltraShape Contour. These procedures
use focused ultrasound devices which aim to achieve
targeted reduction of fat tissue by focusing ultrasound
energy that causes permanent disruption of fat cells
without damage to the epidermis, dermis or underlying
tissues and organs.[4] Procedures such as this would
decrease the risk of infection.

Cosmetic surgery is unfair, for only those who can

afford it have access to it

Only those that can pay for it get it. The most popular surgeries
include breast augmentation, liposuction, nasal surgery, eyelid
surgery and abdominoplasty.[1] There surgeries cost between
3,000 and 5000, between 2,500 and 6,000, between 3,500 and
4,000 and between 2,000 to 6,000 respectively.[2] So if it has
the advantages the opposition claims, the rich will look good, and
the poor will not.

You can spend your money how you like. Why shouldn't
people be allowed to make the personal choice to
change their appearance with their own cash?
Furthermore, the appearance division the proposition
seeks to suggest between rich and poor is much more
dependent on quality of diet. Diet is a universal factor
that affects complexion, height, etc.1, while cosmetic
surgery is a relatively insignificant factor in statistical
terms and one that only affects the particular thing on
which surgery is conducted.

An outright ban would be easier than the partial

bans that have been enacted in some places.

The desire for cosmetic surgery is driven not by external

pressure to seek the acceptance of men, but the internal

The state of Queensland in Australia has a ban on

teenagers having plastic surgery. This prevents anyone
under 18 having cosmetic surgery unless it is to correct
deformities or disfiguring injuries, as well as allowing for
procedures to improve medical, psychological or social
well-being. This potentially leaves difficulty drawing the
line for what is allowed1. A much more comprehensive ban
would avoid this. Cosmetic surgery is already to some
extent regulated. In the UK it is regulated by the GMC and
practising surgeons have to be enrolled on its specialist
register. At the same time all invasive cosmetic surgery
and laser treatments are regulated. A healthcare
commission inspects all registered establishments and can
revoke licences. As such it would not be difficult to expand
these regulating bodies to be making sure that cosmetic
surgery is only performed when as in Queensland it is to
correct deformities and disfiguring injuries.

The availability of cosmetic surgery increases

pressures on women that they must look beautiful.

There is considerable evidence that women's attractiveness is

judged more harshly than men's. For example, in a study by Adams
and Huston, 1975, participants were asked to rate the attractiveness
of photographs of people of varying ages. They found that although
attractiveness ratings of both men and women declined with age, the
rate of decline for women was greater.[1] Researchers report that
womens magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and
articles promoting weight loss than mens magazines do, and over

desire to look and feel better about oneself. There are

many who find that their appearance truly troubles them
and that improving it would greatly enhance their
quality of life. Operation Smile, which fixes oral and
facial deformities found in poor children across the
world, is doing "cosmetic surgery."[1] You can survive
with a hare lip or a cleft palate. But your quality of life
your self-esteem, employability, acceptance in a
traditional society, etc is much better without one.
Following this principle, breast reduction or
augmentation or the removal of acne scars can be just
as important. For example, Carole Wrigglesworth's
breasts shrank after breastfeeding baby girls and as her
breasts shrank so did her self-confidence. As a result she
opted to have a breast enlargement surgery and
reflecting on the experience, Carole has absolutely no
regrets I feel sexier, more confident and extremely
proud of my body.[2]

three-quarters of the covers of womens magazines include at least

one message about how to change a womans bodily appearance
by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.[2] These views about
appearance are damaging because it leads to seriously unhealthy
lifestyles that women think they need to look beautiful. For
example, in 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 per cent of girls 6
to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 per
cent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight.[3]
Cosmetic surgery sends the message that the prejudices some have
about appearance are valid.

CONS
NO
1

POINT
Banning cosmetic surgery would not prevent it
occurring, better for it to be legal and
performed properly
If banned, cosmetic surgery will flourish on a black
market. Of course cosmetic surgery is already
available on the black market but if banned then
potentially all the customers who have legal cosmetic
surgery will become customers for black market
cosmetic surgery. This will drive the prices up and it
will be much more dangerous as it will be done by
unscrupulous doctors and outside all the safety

COUNTERPOINTS

The black market argument applies to everything

illegal. Of course that risk exists, but the number of
those undertaking the activity will be smaller, as
the opposition suggests by saying that operations
will increase in price. Lack of legal safeguards and
medical accountability, and the probability that only
badly qualified doctors will offer illegal operations
will deter almost everyone from risking black
market surgery. Fewer operations must be desirable
if it is agreed that the activity concerned should be

precautions the legal environment provides. Examples

such as that of 46 year old Maria Olivia AguirreCastillo died as a result of a black market cosmetic
procedure in which cooking oil was injected into her
buttocks by an unlicensed practitioner who promised
a cheap alternative to legitimate procedures. After
spending a week in a coma following the procedure,
Ms. Aguirre-Castillo succumbed to multiple organ
failure due to fat embolization, as the oil injected into
her buttocks attacked her body functions1. Examples
such as this would become much more of a common
occurrence if cosmetic surgery was banned due to the
increase in black market surgeries.
2

The development of cosmetic surgery over the

years has been intertwined with that of
reconstructive and more general medical
surgery.
Cosmetic surgery has greatly aided reconstructive
surgery. For example, maxillofacial surgery, or surgery
of the jaw, has developed with insights from both
plastic surgeons and oral surgeons. The roots of oral
and maxillofacial surgery lie in the World Wars, when
service personnel sustained devastating facial
injuries1. These grave injuries necessitated new
innovations in reconstructive surgical procedures. It
was around this time that aesthetic surgery began to
take its place as a somewhat more respected aspect
of plastic surgery. This progress also brought with it a

banned. Since discussing the effects of banning

cosmetic surgery is at the present time a
hypothetical task, this argument will cite the
prohibition of drugs as an example. A 2001
Australian study of 18-29 year olds by the NSW
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research suggests
that prohibition deters illicit drug use. 29% of those
who had never used cannabis cited the illegality of
the substance as their reason for never using the
drug, while 19% of those who had ceased use of
cannabis cited its illegality as their reason1.

It could however be argued that commercialized

medicine will harm society, yet produce little in the
way of benefits. Non-profit hospitals undertake
costly, but needed, research and maintain services
which are not economically viable but which
provide doctors with the training experiences
necessary to medical education. Where profits rule,
however, such necessary, but unprofitable,
research and services important to medical
education will be neglected. Furthermore, as forprofits come to dominate the health care sector,
society will suffer a severe shortage of unprofitable,
but critical, services, such as emergency rooms.
Meanwhile, scarce resources will be squandered to
produce and aggressively market lucrative, but
unnecessary, services, such as cosmetic surgery1

greater understanding of anaesthesia and infection

prevention, allowing surgeons to perform a wider
variety of increasingly complex procedures2. To shut
down cosmetic surgery would be to cut off a valuable
outlet for research and discovery. The market can
sometimes create great benefits: people work hard in
pursuit of profits and often their work can help us all.
Plenty of people make a good living from normal
medicine and they are not criticised, the same should
be true for privately provided medicine: there's
nothing wrong with turning a profit.
3

Women have the right and freedom to choose

how they look
The freedom to change their body if they wish is
important to women who have historically been
subjugated by men, their bodies regarded as owned
and for the use of men. Cosmetic surgery the
ultimate control over ones body, perhaps is the
latest stage in the emancipation of women and their
ability to decide what happens to their bodies. The
French performance artist Orlan, for example, sees
plastic surgery as a path towards self-determination
a way for women to regain control of their bodies.
Instead of having her body rejuvenated or beautiful,
she turns the tables and uses surgery as a medium for
a different project.[1] Orlan designs her body,
orchestrates the operations and makes the final
decision about when to stop and when to go on. She

If anything, cosmetic surgery is the latest

phenomenon in the long history of the
objectification of women in society. In actuality this
technology is not empowering because it is largely
used by women who are driven to meet male
standards of beauty, exaggerating their shape and
seeking to remain youthful lest their partner leave
them for (often literally) a younger model. A
preference for younger women (which is universally
documented) evolved for men to narrow the range
of productive mates to those still young enough to
bear children1. As women's reproductive capacity
drops off dramatically, so do men's ratings of
'attractiveness' for her.

is the creator, not just the creation; the one who

decides and not the passive object of another's
decisions that many people view recipients of
cosmetic surgery to be.[2] Feminists have often
envisioned a future where technology has been seized
for women for their own ends. Take, for example,
Shulamith Firestone's Dialectic of Sex (1970) in which
she fantasies a world in which reproductive
technology frees women from the chores and
constraints of biological motherhood.[3]
4

Given that the reality is that we're judged on

our appearance all the time, it's perfectly
rational to want to look good.

On the other hand, it could be argued that instead

of giving into this reality we should be fighting
against the culture of unrealistic beauty ideals.
Allen Ginsburg, a radical writer of the 1960s, said,
Nobody's forcing anyone to have cosmetic surgery
"Whoever controls the media- the images- controls
the market is driven by demand. Attractiveness is
the culture"1. The media constantly conveys
greatly affects first impressions and later
unrealistic images of the ideal female body. Every
interpersonal relationships. In a classic study entitled
woman has a unique build and make-up, yet the
'What is Beautiful is good', psychologists Kenneth
media always tries to perpetuate what they believe
Dion, Ellen Berscheid and Elaine Hatfield asked
the universal standard of women should be2. These
college students to rate photographs of strangers on a
convince an individual that something is terribly
variety of personal characteristics. Those who were
wrong with his physical appearance and that it
judged to be attractive were also more likely to be
needs to be mended. The growth in cosmetic
rated intelligent, kind, happy, flexible, interesting,
surgery enhances people's perception that there is
confident, friendly, modest, and successful than those
something wrong with their body if they don't
judged unattractive [1]. Teachers rate attractive
conform to the ideal beautiful form. It could also be
children more highly on a variety of positive
argued that the lengths that women go to to try
characteristics including IQ and sociability, and
and look good are indeed not rational. Cosmetic

attractive babies are cuddled and kissed more often

than unattractive babies[2].

surgery with its high cost and risks certainly does

not seem like a rational option3.