Medical Associations recommend Circumcision?

[Teresa]

I'm working on something in which I want to write that 'No Medical Association in the world recommends circumcision.'

But I want to first make sure that it's true!

Any links, resources, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Teresa

[Nathan1097]

You could quote what they have to say. You can always search http://www.cirp.org

[Frankly Speaking]

To be absolutely accurate and correct, you state "No medical association in the world recommends routine infant circumcision." That is because in parts of Asia and other parts of the world, they let the waters get kind of muddy but they do not circumcise infants but instead, adolescents and teens by social or religious custom and they use those customs as a justification. They also tend to promote some of the myths.

If you are planning on posting this on a debate board, you can expect The AAP's policy statement on circumcision to be liberally interpreted and twisted to fit their needs. The fact is, The AAP's Taskforce on Circumcision reviewed 671 research projects and found that "The risks outweigh the potential benefits." The key word in their statement is "potential." The risks of circumcision are known and well documented even though The AAP's numbers are well known to be far, far below the actual incidence. The definition of "potential" is "capable of existing" or not known to exist. There are no known and conclusive benefits of routine infant circumcision and they have stated such.

If you are posting this information to a debate forum and have any problem, PM me and I'll help you out.




Frank

[calngavinsmom]

Here is a great link for you,
http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/

HTH,
Take care,
Tara

[Teresa]

Well, here's the rough draft of the statement I'm planning to use which may clarify things a bit:

"The routine practice of surgically removing the most sexually sensitive parts of a child's genitals is extremely rare outside of the United States. The vast majority of the world’s men and women are intact, with the exception of Jewish, Muslim and certain African cultures. No Medical Association in the world recommends these procedures! Healthy girls--and boys--should be left whole, intact and natural."

It will be--when I finish--a printed letter to the editor, not for the internet use.
I just want to make sure that now Medical Association does recommend it!

Teresa

[Quirky]

I'm not sure it's accurate to say that routine circumcision is extremely rare outside the US....I think it's roughly accurate to say that 1 million baby boys get cut every year in this country. According to the World Health Organization, 2 million females are at risk of circumcision each year. Islam is a huge religion and there are over 1 billion adherents. I have no idea how many Muslim boys are circed each year (or Jewish boys) but it's probably a sizeable number. And there are other cultures that circumcise boys/men as well, in Africa.

I think it would perhaps be more accurate to say that "The United States is the only developed country to engage in the routine practice etc." or "The United States is the only country to engage in the routine practice of circumcising the majority of newborn boys for non-religious reasons" or something to that effect. Other countries (majority Muslim, Israel) circ most boys at some point, and in many countries most girls are circed as well.

[Frankly Speaking]

This is how you would write it to be absolutely accurate with the changes emboldened:



"The routine practice of surgically removing the most sexually sensitive parts of infants genitals is extremely rare outside of the United States. 85% of the world’s men / are intact, with the exception of Jewish, Muslim and certain African cultures. No Medical Association in the world recommends routine circumcision of infants! Healthy girls--and boys--should be left whole, intact and natural."


(1) ~15% of males are circumcised so it can not legitimately stated that it is rare. There would be people that would also contend that the numbers of females circumcised also makes that somewhat common and not rare.

(2) Circumcision of adolescent and teen boys and girls is common in some parts of the world for religious and cultural reasons so to keep your statement correct, you need to put in the qualifier "infant."

(3) Korean and Thai (I believe) medical associations are quite supportive of circumcision of male teens but not infants. Additionally, some of the African medical groups also support circumcision of female adolescents and teens. Use of the word "infant" will get you around these.

Since this is a letter to the editor of an American publication (I suspect) you really don't need to worry too much about absolute accuracy as it is doubtful that anyone will be able to mount a substantial rebuttal. Most of the people who reply to these are woefully ignorant of the facts and tend to spout off all of the old myths and lies. Just be sure you cover all of the big lies and myths.




Frank

[Nathan1097]

Originally Posted by Frankly Speaking

Additionally, some of the African medical groups also support circumcision of female adolescents and teens. Use of the word "infant" will get you around these.

I just talked to my friend from England whose "friend"'s African parents circ'd her only 2 months ago. She's still healing from that (if you can ever really be healed) physically and emotionally. To top it off, she's pregnant from the ordeal and only 15. The parents, btw, are in jail with no chance of parole. She does have support. She says talking to me helps her in some way... she actually came to me to ask about pregnancy symptoms. I just never thought she'd actually be pregnant.

[Frankly Speaking]

OMG! How did she get pregnant from the circumcision? Did the circumcisor rape her or something?



Frank

[Quirky]

Jesus God, I hope she wasn't infibulated. I hope as well she can get some plastic surgery to help repair things - childbirth is very dangerous for infibulated women.