Circumcision

Started by dr e, Jul 03, 2004, 08:46 AM

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Infant and Child Circumcision
By Ryan McAllister, Ph.D and Dan Sisan, Ph.D

In the United States, circumcision is the most commonly performed surgical procedure. Though this operation is performed more than one million times per year, few of us have seen or thought about circumcision. Consider the following facts:

*Circumcision of infants is never medically necessary, according to the American Medical Association, Council on Scientific Affairs.

*Circumcision has serious risks. These include infection, hemorrhage, scarring, shock, penile disfigurement, penile amputation, and even occasional death. The complication rate for this unnecessary procedure is estimated to be 2-10%.

*Circumcision confers no proven health benefits. An intact penis is easy to clean and care for. Some studies show that it increases risk of infections or disease transmission. The few studies that indicate some health benefits all have serious flaws in terms of population selection.

*Circumcision permanently changes the way an infant will later experience sex and sexuality. It removes several square inches of functional, healthy tissue including 10,000-20,000 nerve endings. Removal of this many nerves and this much tissue damages the ability to feel sexual pleasure. Problems later in life can include lack of sensation, chafing, lack of arousal, frustration, and problems due to insufficient lubrication.

*Circumcision is painful. It involves tearing away and amputating highly sensitive tissue that was physically attached to the head of the penis. The procedure causes excruciating pain and can send infants into shock. Babies who have been circumcised are significantly more likely to have problems breast-feeding, and they demonstrate heightened pain responses months later.

*Circumcision hurts everyone. There is evidence that female partners of circumcised men experience less pleasure during intercourse, and may be subject to more frequent vaginal tearing and urinary tract infections.

*Although circumcision holds a traditional place in Jewish and Islamic culture, today's hospital circumcision bears little resemblance to religious ceremonies. Some Jewish individuals are opting for alternative ceremonies that do not require genital alteration, called "Brit Shalom".

*U.S. infant circumcision validates female circumcision here and abroad. The belief that male circumcision is valuable for hygiene reasons mirrors statements that female circumcision is necessary to keep women "clean" and "acceptable" for their husbands. In fact, there is no hygienic justification for removing healthy tissue in either gender.

*There is already a federal law protecting female children from genital cutting, modification, or piercing of any kind. Boys have a right to the same protection.

*Involuntary circumcision violates human rights. Every individual has the right to an intact body, and should not be subjected to body modifications without his/her consent. Infants require special protection because they cannot speak for themselves.

*A child who is not subjected to circumcision will fit in just fine with his peers. Circumcision rates in the U.S. are falling, down from 90% in the 1970s to 60% today.


We all care deeply about the well-being of the children in our lives. Yet in the United States alone, more than one million boys, thousands of intersex children, and an unknown number of girls are subjected to surgical alteration of their genitals every year. Unnecessary genital surgeries violate the individual's right to an intact body, endanger safety, and can interfere with healthy sexuality. As a result, these surgeries are ethically questionable in the extreme.

In countries where circumcision (male or female) is performed, most people have been told that this surgery provides hygiene or health benefits. In reality, genital surgeries do not clearly or substantially reduce the chance of infections or diseases, and the operations are associated with significant risks, including the danger of hemorrhage, infection, severe deformation, and even death. Circumcision of infants interferes with parent-child bonding and can have damaging consequences for personal well-being that last a lifetime.



Personal Action Items:

1.  Encourage friends and family to get the facts on circumcision before they have children. Comprehensive information about circumcision is available at www.NotJustSkin.org

2.  Encourage open discussion about circumcision, acknowledgement of the wounds it has produced for some men, and the need to protect children from unnecessary surgeries.

3.  Sign the Ashley-Montagu petition to end genital cutting worldwide: www.montagunocircpetition.org.
Potential Legislation:

4.  Medicaid Defunding: Write/call/email your State and Congressional representatives to end Medicaid funding for infant or child circumcision.

5. Medicaid should not fund any unnecessary procedures, and either the state or the federal system can ban coverage for this surgery.

6. Appropriate Care: Doctors and health care professionals should not be allowed to encourage child circumcision, since surgery that has no medical justification cannot be considered appropriate care for a child.

7. Equal Rights: Female children have been protected from any form of genital alteration by a 1995 Federal law. Male and intersex children deserve equal protection.

8. Informed consent: Before parent(s) consents to circumcision, they should be provided with complete information about the risks of the procedure, the kinds of nerves and tissues removed, and the absence of proven benefits. They should be encouraged or required to see a circumcision before consenting to have it done to their child.

9. Continuing education. Physicians, medical professionals, and caregivers who work with children should be taught the functions and care of the intact penis. Specifically, they should be taught that the foreskin retracts gradually as children age, and should not be forcibly retracted --- this is painful and can lead to trauma and infection.


No human being should be subjected to unnecessary medical procedures without their consent. Surgery should not be performed without adequate information about the likely effects and risks. We, the adults of our society, have a responsibility to protect our children.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan McAllister, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of www.NotJustSkin.org, and Dan Sisan, Ph.D. is a Board Member of www.NotJustSkin.org Both work as biophysicists and study several topics, including the development of the nervous system.

www.NotJustSkin.org is dedicated to providing scientific information about questionable medical procedures and advocating for human rights.
Contact dr e  Lifeboats for the ladies and children, icy waters for the men.  Women have rights and men have responsibilties.

dr e

Human Rights for Everyone: the Importance of Nonconsensual Child Surgeries Here and Now  Ryan McAllister, Ph.D.

In the U.S., could there be a surgery that:

1. Is performed almost exclusively on non-consenting minors,
2. Is illegal to perform on girls, but is promoted for boys,
3. Is performed with no or inadequate anesthetic,
4. Has no well-established benefits,
5. Removes a healthy, unique part of an organ,
6. Causes a lifelong loss of function,
7. And is performed over one million times a year?

Yes. That surgery is circumcision. Its significant, detrimental impact on male health and human rights is commonly minimized in our culture. I ask you to consider the following facts:

 Circumcision of infants is never medically necessary, according to the  merican Medical Association, Council on Scientific Affairs.

Circumcision is not recommended by any national medical organization in the world.

Circumcision has serious risks. These include but are not limited to infection, hemorrhage, scarring, shock, penile disfigurement, penile amputation, and death.

Beyond 100% loss of the function of the foreskin, the rate of surgical complications for this unnecessary procedure is estimated to be 2-10%.

Circumcision confers no proven health benefits. Few studies indicate potential health benefits, and these studies have serious flaws in terms of population selection.

Several large-scale studies show that circumcision increases risks of some infections and disease transmission.

An intact penis is easy to clean and care for.

The circumcision wound requires days to heal and is painful for the child during that time.

Circumcision removes several square inches of functional, healthy tissue. (The equivalent area in an adult would be about 15 square inches, the size of a 3x5 index card.)

Circumcision removes 10,000-20,000 specialized nerve endings.

Removal of this many nerves and this specialized tissue damages the ability to feel sexual pleasure.

Circumcision is associated with increased sexual problems later in life. These can include lack of sensation, chafing, lack of arousal, frustration, and problems due to insufficient lubrication.

Circumcision causes excruciating pain and often sends infants into shock. It involves tearing away and amputating highly sensitive tissue that was physically attached to the head of the penis.

Babies who have been circumcised are significantly more likely to have problems breast-feeding, and they demonstrate heightened pain responses months later.

Circumcision is associated with increased risk for depression.

Female partners of circumcised men may experience less pleasure during intercourse and may be subject to more frequent vaginal tearing and urinary tract infections.

Some Jewish individuals are opting for alternative ceremonies that do not require genital alteration, called "Brit Shalom".

U.S. infant circumcision validates female circumcision here and abroad.

The belief that male circumcision is valuable for hygiene reasons mirrors statements that female circumcision is necessary to keep women "clean" and "acceptable" for their husbands.

There is no hygienic justification for removing healthy tissue in any gender.

There is already a federal law protecting female children from genital cutting, modification, or piercing of any kind. Boys have a constitutional right to the same protection.

Involuntary circumcision violates human rights. Every individual has the right to an intact body, and should not be subjected to body modifications without his/her consent. Infants require special protection because they cannot speak for themselves.

A boy who is not subjected to circumcision will fit in just fine with his peers. Circumcision rates in the U.S. are falling, down from 90% in the 1970s to about 60% today. Internationally, the male circumcision rate is about 15%.


We all care deeply about the well-being of the children in our lives. Yet in the United States alone, more than one million boys, thousands of intersex children, and an unknown number of girls are subjected to surgical alteration of their genitals every year.  Unnecessary genital surgeries violate the individual's right to an intact body, endanger safety, and can interfere with healthy sexuality. As a result, these surgeries are unethical.


Personal Action Items:

1. Talk to parents-to-be. Encourage friends and family to get the facts on circumcision before they have children. Comprehensive information about circumcision is available at www.NotJustSkin.org. See particularly our printable circumcision FAQ.

2. Talk to everyone. Encourage open discussion about circumcision, acknowledgement of the wounds it has produced for some men, and the need to protect children from unnecessary surgeries.

3. Sign the Ashley-Montagu petition to end genital cutting worldwide: www.montagunocircpetition.org.

4. Don't help pay for circumcision. Call your insurance company and ask if they cover infant circumcision. If so, find out who you can petition to have coverage stopped.

5. Interrupt sexism. Encourage others to notice and respect the rights of children, even if they are boy-children. One reason we may find boy circumcision more comfortable that girl circumcision is that we view boys' pain as less important and boys' bodies as more expendable. However, regardless of gender, circumcision violates the rights of bodily integrity and self determination. Viewing boys' genitals as dirtier than girls' is also sexist.

6. Contradict myths. Use the facts you now know, and further resources at NotJustSkin.org to contradict the standard excuses for circumcision: hygiene, disease prevention, supposed preferences of future sexual partner(s), "having" to get it done later, and locker-room teasing.
Potential Legislation:

7. Appropriate Care: Doctors and health care professionals should not be allowed to encourage or perform child circumcision, since surgery that has no medical justification cannot be considered appropriate care for a child.

8. Equal Rights: Female children have been protected from any form of genital alteration by a 1995 Federal law. Male and intersex children deserve equal protection.

9. Informed consent: There is no such thing as informed consent for harmful sexual surgery performed on a minor. While this goes unrecognized, parents should be provided with complete information about the risks of the procedure, the kinds of nerves and tissues removed, and the absence of proven benefits. They should be encouraged or required to see a circumcision before consenting to have it done to their child.

10. Continuing education. Physicians, medical professionals, and caregivers who work with children should be required to learn the functions and care of the intact penis. Specifically, they should learn that the foreskin retracts gradually as children age, and should not be forcibly retracted --- this is painful and can lead to trauma and infection.

No human being should be subjected to unnecessary medical procedures without their consent. Surgery should not be performed without adequate information about the likely effects and risks. We, the adults of our society, have a responsibility to protect all of our children.


- - - - -
Ryan McAllister, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of www.NotJustSkin.org. He works as biophysicists studying several topics, including the development of the nervous system.

NotJustSkin is dedicated to providing scientific information about questionable medical procedures and advocating for human rights. Informed Adults - Healthy Kids. Human Rights for Everyone.
Contact dr e  Lifeboats for the ladies and children, icy waters for the men.  Women have rights and men have responsibilties.

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