Homework about Circumcision

[roxemama]

My homework assignment for a childbirth class I'm in is Pros and Cons of circumcision as well as a episiotomy. I know they are horrible, unnecessary practices. I have a little girl and had a homebirth so I don't feel I have extensive knowledge on the subject so I'd like to hear your thoughts. TIA!

[LavenderMae]

There really are no pros to infant/child non consensual circumcision, there's just not. It's all pain no gain for the baby/child. I know that's not helpful at all but any pros that are tossed around aren't factual.

There's lots of cons in the link/resources at the top of this forum.

[Night_Nurse]

I haven't been on this linked website in a while, but they used to have info on both circ and episiotomy: http://notjustskin.org/

[roxemama]

I know there are not any Pro's, that's what I'll say. I'm just so busy at work I haven't had time to dig into the essense of it. I'll check out the link.

[glongley]

If you look at standard parent circumcision information sheets, often they list Pros and Cons, usually prevention of diseases and the social benefits of looking like father or peers. The thing is that these alleged are just listed as givens, without giving any counterbalancing background info (like other ways to prevent or handle these issues). And the cons are usually only a bare bones listing of risks, leaving out major issues like the guaranteed loss of the foreskin's protective and sexual functions, and the significant ethical issues raised by nontherapeutic amputation of a normal healthy body part on a nonconsenting individual. So if they're going to be grading you on the Pros and Cons game - you could acknowledge some of these, and then give the other side of the story that shows why they're not valid Pros, or not complete Cons.

For the other side of the story, have a look at: http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/fleiss.html

[Night_Nurse]

http://www.homiegfunk.com/RIC2.htm

[Greg B]

Here is a good treatment of the pros and cons:

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...yStatement.pdf

Regards

[Quirky]

I think it bears asking the question -- as part of your homework assignment and as something the instructors need to be thinking about before they ask this question of future students: which other body part would we consider cutting off a baby to prevent a hypothetical future issue? How about breast buds on baby girls? The lifetime risk of breast cancer for US women is currently something like 1 in 8 and it would be a LOT less intrusive to cut their breast buds off at birth, before they develop. Think about what a fairly small wound that would be -- yes, it would be painful, but not nearly as painful as surgery, chemo, and radiation later on!

To posit the question that there are pros and cons to genital reduction surgery on boys assumes:

• that parents have the right to perform cosmetic surgery on their sons for any trivial reason whatsoever
• that the foreskin, amongst all body parts that may eventually be afflicted with a problem or a disease, is disposable
• that the foreskin has no function and no value
• that boys do not have an inherent human right to intact genitals as girls do.

If it were me, I'd write the paper about what is wrong with the question, not about the "pros and cons" of circumcision. Or else I'd write about why we should consider circumcising baby girls for cultural and health reasons. Because the question itself is so totally biased and shaped by culture, not science.

[Night_Nurse]

Originally Posted by Quirky

...
If it were me, I'd write the paper about what is wrong with the question, not about the "pros and cons" of circumcision. Or else I'd write about why we should consider circumcising baby girls for cultural and health reasons. Because the question itself is so totally biased and shaped by culture, not science.

I like the way you think, Quirky!

[SashaBreeze]

I agree with the other posters, that assignment is loaded with some pretty heinous assumptions.

Since you will have to list the supposed "pros" in order to meet the assignment criteria I would be tempted to write it as a The Emperor Has No Clothes type of paper. List a "pro" followed by the con that completely destroys any belief that the before mentioned "pro" is anything other than a scam.

Did that make since? Sorry I am up for what feels like the one millionth time to go to the bathroom tonight (twin pregnancy) and couldn't fall back to sleep so if that wasn't clear please look over my sleep deprived mind.

ETA: Oh geez I just looked at the link that NightNurse posted and it does exactly what I was trying to say above. Oops sorry about that everyone. On the other hand though I am thrilled to see that page and will definitely be saving it to print later and hand out to a couple of friends irl that are still on the fence about circ.

[eepster]

It occurred to me, that one of the things that these two procedures (circ and episiotomy) have in common is that they are just thrown in with the actual birth when it comes to being informed about consent.

[jenP]

Originally Posted by Night_Nurse

I like the way you think, Quirky!

Yeah, I was going to quote that same paragraph!

Also, to the OP, you might print out the AMA's (or is it the AAP's?) guidelines on proxy consent. Then ask the question, "since circumcision meets NONE of the requirements for parental proxy consent for surgery on a minor, WHY is it allowed?"


Jen

[QueenOfTheMeadow]

Please remember that we do not allow reference to or discussion on religion in CAC.

[jserral]

Yea, I think tackling the question the way Quirky suggests could be the best route. If you want more info on the specifics I compared many of them here, http://circumstraint.com/analysis_medical.html the bottom line is even with "pro-circ" studies the drawbacks/side effects outweigh the benefits.