Circumcision terrifies me. It was scarier to me than raising a child alone. When I was pregnant with Mumbles my sonogram was an emergency so I didn't get to find out if I was having a boy or a girl. For the next four and half months I was petrified that my baby was a boy and that he would have to be circumcised. I can stomach a lot of things but the idea of a baby bleeding makes me ill. I worried about keeping it from getting infected. A newborn's diaper is not exactly a sterile environment. Luckily, my first was a beautiful girl. When I became pregnant with Charlie, from the very beginning I knew in my heart I was having a boy. If circumcision was on the table, I was going to find out everything I could.
A brief history
Circumcision, in the Judea-Christian world, began with Abraham. It was an act that honored a covenant with God. In the 1800's, circumcision was purposed as a cure for a variety of ills from bedwetting and masturbation (seen then as a disease) to spinal paralysis and epilepsy. Throughout the 1900's, there were a variety of medical 'reasons' to circumcise put forward, though none of them have withstood time or scientific testing. Despite nearly all of these claims being disproved, the practice continued to become more common in the U.S. leading to the development and implementation of specialized tools.
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These are just a couple of the tools on the market today.
A more modern take
In the 1970's, people started questioning the practice of routinely circumcising infant boys. No other country in the world had implemented this practice. At this point circumcision rates in the US were more than 75% but less than 25% in the rest of the world. Since claims that circumcision was cure for anything had been debunked, advocates turned to prevention. Assertions were made that circumcision prevented cancer, urinary tract infections and STDs. But in 1971, the American Academy of Pediatrics warned that there weren't any valid medical reasons to circumcise infant boys. They would later reverse this statement only to then leave it up to parents discretion. Even renowned childcare expert Dr. Spock in 1976 revised his book Baby and Child Care stating that if he'd had his son today('76), he'd "leave his penis alone." He'd previously recommended the routine circumcision of newborn males.
When it comes right down to it
With so much conflicting information, how do parents make an educated decision. I think it boils down to taking the information that is available and deciding what feels true. Our truths:
- No medical organization in the world recommends the routine circumcision of infants (male or female).
- Studies in which circumcision it purposed as preventative are anecdotal at best. There is no definitive research that proves circumcision prevents against HIV/AIDS, cancer or urinary tract infections. It is irresponsible to assert that circumcision is a 'vaccine' for HIV when abstinence and condoms are the only known ways to prevent contraction of the virus.
- It is not 'cleaner'. Besides, our hands get dirty and are responsible for the transmission of far more diseases/bacteria/parasites/etc than foreskins but we don't cut those off. We wash them.
- Circumcision is a quick way to make a couple hundred dollars. There's also a market for the amputated foreskins in the, wait for it, cosmetics industry. So yeah, I have a serious problem with doctors, hospitals and companies profiting by using my son's foreskin to keep vain people from getting wrinkles.
- Without medical indication, circumcision is a cosmetic procedure that permanently alters the look and function of the penis. I have no right to make a decision of this nature about anybody else's body but my own. I would not consent to breast augmentation for my newborn girl, why would I consent to circumcision? Everyone has a right to genital integrity.
- We are not Jewish. We aren't even practicing Christians but I know that entry to heaven is not based on deed. I feel that God creates us in his perfect image, and we cannot improve upon that by removing perfectly healthy tissue.
- The rate of serious complication from circumcision is estimated between 2%-10%. These complications include but are not limited to scarring, excessive blood loss, impotence, and death. Why would I risk even a 10% chance for a procedure that there is no medical indication for? If you consider that by removing the foreskin and prepuce, tens of thousands of nerve endings have been removed as well as a functioning part of the penis, then the complication rate is 100%.
- Finally, I watched a video of a circumcision. The only word to describe it is horrifying. Probably the single most compelling truth for me. Anybody who says a newborn doesn't feel pain is either lying or stupid. I know many hospitals/doctors use anesthesia but how do you suppose they administer that anesthesia? By inserting a needle near the base of the penis. How many guys do you know think a shot in the junk doesn't sound excruciating? That is not the way I wanted to welcome my son Earth side.
The decision to keep our son whole was not one we took lightly. We did a lot of research and even more soul searching. Below are some places where I found information and support but ultimately we made our choice based on our own feelings about how we wanted to honor our son's entrance into the world.
Peaceful Parenting
Woman Uncensored
Woman-Uncensored on Facebook
NOCIRC
Circumcison Resource Center
Circumcision Trauma
*this video is graphic
SavingOurSons
Doctors Opposing Circumcision
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