Complete,
As Nature Intended©
by Karen Squires
I picked my newborn son up from the adoption agency September 21, 1983 and took
him home. Later when I changed his diaper I wasn't surprised to find him
circumcised, nor was I upset. It was the done thing to circumcise babies, most
of my friends had their sons circumcised. I didn't even question it.
My second son was born January 2, 1997 at 9:10 p.m. Early the next morning when
he was less than a day old a pediatrician came into the room to give him a
check-up. He took off his diaper and said "Your son will be circumcised
this morning." I replied "No he won't!" The doctor stopped what
he was doing, turned to look at me for the first time since entering the room,
and after glaring at me so long that I was beginning to feel like a small child
who had done wrong, he said, "Have you thought about this ?" "Yes
I have," I replied, "I researched it well."
I was older when my second son was born, less likely to follow the crowd. When I
discovered I was carrying a boy I decided to do some research on circumcision.
When I was finished I knew my son would not be circumcised. My next job was to
convince my husband who thought that his boy should look like him. I printed out
the information on circumcision and gave it to him to read. He still wasn't sure
what to do. I asked him if we were carrying a girl would he want her circumcised
and he said no and that was the end of the debate.
Parenting brings a whole new set of responsibilities. We have the care of
another human being to consider. We can't follow the crowd when it comes to the
most important job in our lives. These little children are counting on us to
protect them. Here is some of the information I uncovered while making my
decision on circumcision. Read this article and research the issue further on
your own. Come to a decision based on collecting all the information you can
gather. I am against circumcision based on the research I have done. I never
found any evidence that showed circumcision is necessary, but from the
information I have read I feel that circumcision is one of the biggest crimes
committed against our baby boys.
"Whatever is done to stop the terrible practice of circumcision will be of
tremendous importance. There is no rational medical reason to support it."
- Dr. Frederick Leboyer, author, Birth Without Violence
History of Circumcision in the U.S...
When and why did doctors in the U.S. start performing circumcisions.
Circumcision started toward the end of the1800's to prevent masturbation. It was
performed almost exclusively on children and teens on a very limited basis and
rarely on babies. Circumcision was performed in order to cause damage to the
penis. Removing the foreskin reduced the sexual feelings and removed mobility of
the penis and the desired result was to prevent masturbation which some doctors
believed caused diseases including epilepsy, tuberculosis and insanity, asthma,
deterioration of joints, alcoholism, kleptomania, bedwetting, etc, -- any
disease for which there was no known cause at the time.
The American Academy of Pediatrics...
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a new policy on
circumcision. "Circumcision is not essential to a child's well-being at
birth, even though it does have some potential medical benefits. These benefits
are not compelling enough to warrant the AAP to recommend routine newborn
circumcision." - American Academy of Pediatrics 1999 Press Release
Note the word "potential" when referring to the medical benefits.
Potential means may or may not develop. Also the damage caused to the penis
during circumcision was not even addressed. "Two years ago, the Canadian
Pediatric Society concluded that the benefits and harms of circumcision were 'so
evenly balanced' that there was no valid reason to justify routine male
circumcision." - Ottawa Citizen Online
Urinary tract Infection...
The intact baby has a slightly increased chance of developing a urinary tract
infection in infancy but a lower incidence of UTI (urinary tract infection) the
rest of his life. UTI's in females are found at rates of up to 50 times that of
males (Understanding Urinary Tract Infection, Infect Urol 8 (4), 111,114-120,
1995) and we do not alter their genitalia as a preventative measure. Most UTI's
in the intact male are iatrogenic (doctor caused) by inspecting, probing and
even retracting the fused foreskin and introducing bacteria the foreskin is
designed to keep out. - Eileen Wayne, M.D.
"Toronto researchers studied almost 60,000 boys. The study suggests 195
circumcisions would need to be performed to prevent one hospital admission for
urinary tract infection in the first year of life. Since a conservative estimate
of the number of significant complications of circumcision is 2-3%, this would
mean that circumcising nearly 200 boys to prevent one urinary tract infection
would result in at least 4 boys suffering a major complication to prevent one
easily treatable urinary tract infection." - The Lancet 1998; 352:1813-16
The breast cancer rate is incredibly high but we don't perform mastectomies on
our daughters when they develop breasts in order to save them from
'potential" breast cancer.
"Submitting your son to the procedure to prevent urinary tract infections
makes only a little more sense than buying insurance against being gored by a
unicorn in Riverside." - Eugene Robin, MD, Stanford University Medical
School San Francisco Examiner, Nov 5 1987. p. E-5
Cancer of the Penis...
Another "potential" benefit you may have heard about is a lower risk
of getting cancer of the penis. This type of cancer is rare in circumcised and
intact men. Penile cancer affects elderly men with a history of genital warts,
genital rashes, smoking and over thirty sex partners. The only way to prevent
rare cancer of the penis is to amputate the entire penis.
"Isn't it insulting to the average male's intelligence to think that
surgery is preferable because he can't be entrusted with washing his genitals
when somehow he manages to brush his teeth, clean his ears and blow his
nose?" - Louanne Cloe, Ph.D. Sexologist San Francisco Examiner, pB-7, Aug
11, 1993.
The rate of this cancer in America is about the same as other countries and
higher than the rate in intact Japan and in northern European countries. With so
many circumcised American males we should see a decrease in our rate of cancer
but we don't.
We would have to circumcise over 200,000 newborns to possibly prevent cancer in
one elderly man and those who were circumcised would still be at about the same
risk.
The American Cancer Society states "Penile cancer is extremely rare in the
United States and accounts for less than one half a percent of cancers diagnosed
among men and less than one tenth of a percent of cancer deaths among men.
Proven penile cancer risk factors include having unprotected sexual relations
with multiple partners (increasing the likelihood of human papillomavirus
infection), and cigarette smoking. The consensus among studies...is circumcision
is not of value in preventing cancer of the penis."
Cervical Carcinoma...
The suggestion that women married to intact men have an increased risk of
cervical cancer has been disproven many times. "Having intercourse at an
early age, multiple sex partners and smoking are the strongest factors in
contracting this type of cancer." - Elizabeth Stern, M.D., Peter Neely,
Ph.D., "Cancer of the Cervix in Reference to Circumcision and Marital
History, Journal of the American Women's Association," vol. 17, no. 9,
Sept. 1962
Sexually Transmitted Diseases...
Also suggested is that intact men are at a higher risk of contracting sexually
transmitted diseases. The AAP states that behavioral factors are more important
in determining a persons risks of contracting diseases. If you want to do
something to help your son avoid sexually transmitted diseases, education and
use of condoms is the answer. The medical literature shows that circumcision
does not lower the incidence of STD's, but in fact may increase the risk.
....."the odds of contracting a bacterial STD triple among the
circumcised." - "Circumcision in the United States," Journal of
the American Medical Association, April 2, 1997 "...the incidence of
chlamydia may be 25 times higher among circumcised men." - Time magazine,
April 14. 1997
Phimosis...
Circumcision can be recommended as a preventive measure for phimosis,
paraphimosis, and balanoposthitis. "These problems involve the foreskin
directly, so circumcision prevents problems in the same way as pulling teeth
would prevent cavities.
Phimosis, is a condition that occurs when the opening of the foreskin is too
small to permit the glans to be uncovered painlessly. This problem cannot be
diagnosed in infancy and childhood because the foreskin is immovable then. In
Europe, the first treatments involve gentle stretching, sometimes combined with
steroid creams.
Para-phimosis is a similar problem except that when the foreskin is retracted
the opening is tight enough to restrict blood flow to and from the glans. It is
treatable the same way as phimosis.
"Balanoposthitis is an infection of the glans and foreskin which is
normally treatable with antibiotics. Surgery should be a last resort, not an
initial treatment." - Wayne Hampton, Negative Aspects of Routine Infant
Circumcision
Psoriasis....
"Psoriasis is found only on the glans of the circumcised penis." -
Robert Van Howe, M.D.
Balanitis...
"Balanitis is an infection of the glans and the circumcised penis has an
increased risk of balanitis." - Genitorurin Med, 1993.
Circumcision is Surgery...
Lets talk about the possible complications of being circumcised. First let me
point out that circumcision is surgery. Surgery has inherent risks, risks that
you should be aware of. The most common complications are local infection, and
minor bleeding. "Infection occurs after circumcision in up to 10% of
patients." - Williams and Kapila, Complications of Circumcision Brit J Surg
v80, Oct 1993, p1231-1236.
Other complications include excessive bleeding, complications from anesthesia,
surgical mistakes, including loss of glans and loss of the entire penis, and
death. Death doesn't happen often, but for the parents who's son died from
cosmetic surgery, it was once too often.
"It is an incontestable fact at this point that there are more deaths each
year from complications of circumcision than from cancer of the penis." -
S. Gellis, M.D., Circumcision Am J Dis Ch, v132 #12 December 1978. p1168
"Most parents don't know what is actually done to a baby when he is
circumcised. The baby is placed spread-eagle on his back on a board and his arms
and legs are strapped down so that he can't move. His genitals are scrubbed and
covered with antiseptic. His foreskin is torn from the glans and slit lengthwise
so that the circumcision instrument can be inserted. Then his foreskin is cut
off, usually without anesthetic." - National Organization of Circumcision
Information Resource Centers
Pain...
Is circumcision painful? A study that was being conducted on babies who were
circumcised without pain killer was ended early to prevent any more babies from
being subjected to the operation without anesthesia. "The researchers
discovered that not only was there severe pain but an increased risk of choking
and breathing difficulties." - Atlanta (CNN)
It is now recommended that parents insist on the use of pain killer during the
procedure but it has been argued that injecting anesthesia can be as painful as
circumcision itself. Some say that babies don't remember the pain but we know
that young children can experience trauma and that although they may not
remember, it can cause emotional problems.
Maria Fitgerald of University College London writes in the Medical Research
Council's journal that "Reports in clinical and psychological literature
indicate early injury or trauma can have long-term consequences on sensory or
pain behavior that extend into childhood and beyond." - Circumcision
Resource Center
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine states that babies do feel
severe pain from the procedure, in fact more than older children and adults. The
study recommends anaesthesia and pain management for circumcision. The report
also mentions that even when anaesthesia is attempted, it is not always
successful, and the use of anaesthesia adds risks to the procedure. Topical
anesthetics are woefully inadequate.
"Most babies scream frantically when their foreskins are cut off. Some
defecate, some lapse into a coma. The reason some babies don't cry when they are
circumcised is that they can't cry because they are in a state of shock." -
National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers
If you decided to have your son circumcised...
If you decide to have your son circumcised be there with him. If my son was to
fall down and hurt himself, I would go to him and comfort him. If a baby is
being circumcised I believe parents should be there during the procedure to do
the same.
A little about the foreskin....
"The foreskin contains thousands of highly sensitive sensory receptors
called Meissner corpuscles, which are more abundant there than in any other part
of the penis. Richly endowed with a profusion of blood vessels, it also has a
riged band of peripenic muscles that protects the urinary tract from
contaminants, and an undersurface lined with mucocutaneous tissue found nowhere
else on the body, which contains ectopic glands that produce natural emollients
and antibacterial proteins similar to those found in mother's milk. With it's
frenar ridges and its thousands of nerve endings, the foreskin not only protects
the glans, which in an intact male is extremely sensitive, it also accounts for
roughly one-third the penis' sexual perceptivity." - Circumcision in
America - Debra S. Ollivier
"The foreskin protects the glans throughout life." - American Academy
of Pediatrics
Religion....
The methods used today to circumcise removes much more of the foreskin than
required by the bible. Men who had been circumcised during biblical times
appeared intact.
"The Biblical technique of circumcision designed to fulfill the Covenant
with Abraham removed only preputial tissue that extended beyond the tip of the
glans penis (Bris Milah). By first pulling up on the foreskin, then placing a
glans shield, the operator preserved virtually all of the sensitive inner lining
of the prepuce. ... sensitive tissue that was preserved during Biblical
circumcision, is almost always excised during "modern" circumcision
with the Gomco Clamp or the Plastibell....The Biblical technique was completed
much more quickly. Part of the foreskin is slid into the slit on the shield, and
a knife slices off the portion above the shield in less than one second. Gomco
Clamp circumcisions have been known to take up to 20 minutes. ..." - George
C. Denniston, M.D. M.P.H. "Modern" Circumcision: The Escalation of a
Ritual
"Some Jews are replacing brit millah with brit shalom, a bloodless baby
naming ceremony." - George C. Denniston, M.D. M.P.H.
"The percentage of Jews in the National Organization of Restoring Men
exceeds the fraction of Jews in the general population by several times.
Religious parents who are concerned about various negatives surrounding
circumcision might seek information from the Circumcision Resource Center, PO
Box 232, Boston MA 02133, which specializes in religious issues."- Negative
Aspects of Routine Circumcision, by Wayne Hampton
In the Book of Mormon, Moroni 8:8:
"Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God.
Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to
repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore,
little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore
the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and
the law of circumcision is done away in me. In the New Testament it says
circumcision is unnecessary and even discouraged.
Galatians 5:2:
"Behold, I paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall
profit you nothing."
Only 15% of the world's Christian males are circumcised.
Problems your circumcised boy may develop as a man...
When the foreskin is removed the opening to the urethra is exposed. Chemical and
soaps can cause irritation. Meatal stenosis which is a narrowing of the opening
caused by ulcerations may occur. This can happen to men and women but being
circumcised makes it worse. Another problem that can develop is painful erection
and painful intercourse. This can happen if your son is circumcised too tight.
Meatal ulceration, skin tags, skin bridges, tearing of tight shaft skin and
testicles drawn up to the body at erection can also occur. Men complain of many
other problems that are a direct result of being circumcised. An entire article
could be written on this alone.
Ethics...
Ethics is an issue we can't skip in this discussion. Do we have the right to
decided for another person what should be done to their body. I don't believe we
do. The foreskin of a boy belongs to him and only he should be allowed to have
it removed. His cries tell us he would rather be left intact.
The American Academy of Pediatrics policy on circumcision concluded by saying
"however, that it is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural,
religious and ethnic traditions..." I disagree, in countries where girls
are circumcised because of those reasons we shudder at the thought and consider
the practice barbaric, so why is it okay to take those into consideration here.
Dr. George Denniston, President of Doctor's Against Circumcision, sums up this
issue very nicely: "The issue of circumcision is a very simple one. Suppose
a doctor came up to you just after you had delivered your first son and said to
you, "Now I am going to remove his eyelids!" What would you say to
him?" Well, that is exactly what you should say to a doctor that wants to
remove part of your son's normal penis." Doctor's should not be doing
circumcisions. Removing normal tissue for no medical reason is NOT covered by
their licenses. In addition, a doctor violates all seven Principles of the AMA
Code of Ethics every time he performs a circumcision."
"My own preference, if I had the good fortune to have another son would be
to leave his little penis alone." Dr. Benjamin Spock, Redbook, April 1989
"The best reason to let a baby keep his foreskin intact is that it's almost
a certainty that he will be glad you did." - John A. Erickson
Cosmetics....
60% of US males are being circumcised (but over 80% of the world's males are
intact) so 40% of American boys are leaving the hospital intact.
In England and New Zealand the infant circumcision rate is less than 1%, in
Australia 10% and in Canada now down to 17%. All English speaking countries
(outside of the U.S.) now have a combined infant and child circumcision rate
less than 10%.
For parents who want their sons to look like boys who have been circumcised
there isn't much reason for concern. Now that the American Academy of Pediatrics
has released it's new policy and "there is not a single national medical
organization in the entire world that advocates or supports routine infant
circumcision - not a single one."- George Denniston, M.D. M.P.H., -The Salt
lake Tribune, Thurs., March 11, 1999- more and more parents are going to leave
their sons intact. It soon will be the circumcised boy who looks different. It
shouldn't make any difference though if we don't all look alike, don't we
encourage our children to appreciate their uniqueness. Isn't it important that
he be sexually fully functional physically and sexually?
Care of the uncircumcised penis...
Care of the uncircumcised boy is quite easy, leave it alone. "External
washing and rinsing on a daily basis is all that is required." - American
Academy of Pediatrics
Intercourse with the intact penis...
The 1999 British Journal of Urology Supplement has a study of American women who
have experienced sex with both intact and circumcised partners. "The
results of the survey are truly astonishing. Among other things, the vast
majority of surveyed women indicated that they overwhelmingly prefer intercourse
with a man with a natural penis (approximately 90%) and that they were
significantly more likely to achieve a "vagina" orgasm during
"natural" intercourse. More astonishing is the fact that many women
actually rated circumcised intercourse a negative experience when compared to
the natural intercourse.' Kristen O'Hara, Author of Sex As Nature Intended.
Summary...
When making a decision whether to leave your son intact or not, take into
consideration the possible potential benefits and weight them against the risks
of surgery, trauma, pain, reduction of sensuousness, limited mobility, long term
damage, loss of glans protection, death, better sex for the female and the very
real possibility that your son will be glad you left him the way nature
intended.
There is more information on circumcision available. It would be difficult for
me to cover it all. This article should at least make you want to learn more
before making a decision that will affect your son the rest of his life.
Circumcision can't be undone.
"Nature knows more about designing the penis than do American doctors"
- Jerry W. Warner
"Within minutes, three feet of veins, arteries and capillaries, 240 feet of
nerves and more than 20,000 nerve endings are destroyed; so are all the muscles,
glands, epithelial tissue and sexual sensitivity associated with the foreskin.
Finally, what nature intended as an internal organ is irrevocably
externalized." - Circumcision In America - Debra S. Ollivier
Dear parent, here are some organizations you can contact to get more information
on circumcision. You can also look them up on the internet.
My deepest thanks to Ken Derifield of The Intact Network for contributing to
this article. He can be reached at the following address; The Intact Network,
703 E. Walnut St. Washington, IN 47501 e-mail mailto:intacnet@dmrtc.net
National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers - (NOCIRC) an
organization of diverse individuals committed through research, education and
advocacy to securing the birthright of male and female infants and children to
keep their sex organs intact. P.O. Box 2512, San Anselmo, CA 94979-2512. Tel:
415-488-9883
National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males (NOHARMM)
P.O. Box 460795, San Francisco, CA 94146-0795. Tel: 415-826-9351 National
Organization of Restoring Men (NORM) 3205 Northwood Drive, Suite 209, Concord,
CA 94520-4506. Tel: 510-827-4077
UNCIRC P.O. Box 52138, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. Tel: 408-375-4326
Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.) is an organization of physicians, and
others who are opposed to routine neonatal circumcision. D.O.C. has members in
50 States, 12 Canadian Provinces and Territories, and in nations on six
continents. These doctors recognize that no one has the right to forcibly remove
sexual body parts from another individual. They also believe that doctors should
have no role in this painful, unnecessary procedure inflicted on the newborn.
Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.) 2442 NW Market St. Suite 42 Seattle,
Washington, 98107 U.S.A
"The grandest privilege of those who have the means is to alleviate
suffering." - H. P. Blavatsky
"Intact"
Content.
The precious babe lay at my breast.
"Shall we cut him?"
they ask.
You shall not.
I would sooner give you a part of me
to cut off.
We shall leave him to be
Whole
Intact
As God made him.
Rachel Hyde, NY, May 1999
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