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Welcome to Circumcision. While female circumcision has become a human rights issue, male circumcision is viewed as so completely normal by so many people that it is seldom questioned. This said, differences of opinion among medical researchers, religious philosophers, sociologists, and psychiatrists, not to mention men and women, exist. Feel free to say what you wish on this subject.

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admin
Posted on Wednesday, October 02, 2002 - 07:43 pm:   

"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Circumcision: Untold Facts on America's Most Widely Performed - and Most Unnecessary - Surgery"

by Paul M. Fleiss, MD, and Frederick M. Hodges, DPhil.

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

Read this book and save a baby's life - maybe a planet's., August 29, 2002 Reviewer: Van Lewis ... from Florida, United States Written by a prominent Jewish pediatrician and an Oxford University-trained Doctor of Philosophy in medical history, this authoritative book settles "the circumcision question" definitively.

Once we understand the complex and exquisitely well-constructed biological structures of the human male foreskin, together with its vital biological and perceptual functions which depend utterly upon those vital structures - and this book enables us to do that with ease - we will be able to reevaluate our myriad family, cultural, medical and religious mythologies COMPETENTLY in light of God/evolution's ACTUAL genital creations, instead of in the dark of our former human misperceptions and non-perceptions of them and consequent destructive misconceptions about them.

We will never have peace on this planet so long as we continue to allow circumcisers to mutilate the sex organs of our descendants. Once we quit committing these heinous sex crimes against them and their human future - and quit allowing others to do so - then they finally will have a chance to establish true peace and love on Earth amongst themselves. Not before.

Van Lewis The Ashley Montagu Resolution to End the Genital Mutilation of Children: http://MontaguNOCIRCpetition.
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Deana
Posted on Friday, October 04, 2002 - 12:06 pm:   

Here's an excellent Q&A by Paul M Fleiss...

I have to say, that immediately following my newborn son's circumcision - I was horrified by the pain this little fellow suffered. I hadn't heard him cry at all for the first two days after his birth. During the surgery, I heard him scream from all the way down the corridor where I sat & waited in my room. It was the most brutal thing I have ever seen. Never again would I do that to any child of mine & my next two children were girls. My children will someday have children of their own & you can bet this Grandma will make sure none of them are mutilated by this barbaric practice.

Incidentally, I have never met a man who doesn't wish his member to have remained intact.

http://www.mothering.com/10-0-0/html/10-1-0/10-1-protectuncircson103.shtml
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Gadrey
Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 05:21 am:   

Even Common sense can tell anyone that skin which can strech as much to contain even twin pregnancy in females can not be streched 2 inches, day by day, slow periodical increased, streching to dilate 2 inches ?
I feel live skin can be streched infinitely. One can see the same in huge cancerous tumors at times.

Circumcision was I think, discovered as a method for differentiating Slaves from Royals so that women can identify whether the man is of slave category or other in western world.
In eastern world jobs were given to Natural Eunaques who were also given job of blessing newly married so that they should not have the same curse. They also would come on birth of newborn so that any abnormal child would be handed over to them. They were supposed to learn dance & music & drama with symbol of Ardha-Nari-Nateshwar being the idol for prayers, before any drama programme.
Further these became routine religious rituals.
Modern Surgeons it became handy bread-butter earning method!
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Ingrid
Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 09:43 pm:   

So, are you agreeing that the procedure is unnecessary and potentially harmful?
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Gadrey
Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 09:59 am:   

Dear Ingrid,
I am an allopathic postgraduate, Dr.Paul M. Fleiss, MD, and Frederick M. Hodges, DPhil. are also quite responsible people as per my judgement yet "In an indiviual case sometimes cicumcision might be required ( exceptional cases )", and respective consultant has to decide this. For patients my advise would be go to someone whom you tust 100%. This trust part has slowly disappeared from the practice due to finanial pressures and temptations faced by doctors on one part & patient's do not have time & patience ( a Patient is ideal "who has patience & faith" in the doctor) for time consuming methods like dilatation.
Religious angle makes it still more complicated.
This is true even in case of burying the body or burning it to ashes in crematorium. Burning in ellectric crematorium is very safe pratice even in view of new infections like HIV & SARS the latest viral infection. Govts & UN & WHO needs to do something about it, but who will come forward & tie the bell around cat's neck (Cats being Relegious custodians)?

Dr.Gadrey.
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Ingrid
Posted on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 11:52 pm:   

Dr. Gadrey,

This is one of those situations in which the customs are again very different. Here, most circumcisions are performed on newborns and it rarely occurs to the doctors to ask the parents or explain the procedure. It is simply accepted as "routine." In short, while it is customary among Jewish people, it is entirely optional for Christians but doctors are performing it as a matter of medical preference rather than religious choice. I do believe that the history of the procedure was hygienic, but this also probably varies by era and culture and beliefs.

As for cremation, it is again often a matter of religious choice. Normally, in the West, Christians are buried but Jewish people are usually cremated, but cremation is becoming more common and it is certainly more medically sound though people's feelings on the subject vary widely and wildly.

We assume that HIV and SARS would be destroyed by cremation but not, apparently the prion causing Mad Cow Disease. These are enormous subjects, often addressed emotionally rather than medically.

Best wishes,
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gadrey
Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 08:59 am:   

You have written,
"Here, most circumcisions are performed on
newborns and it rarely occurs to the doctors to ask the parents or explain the procedure". It is simply accepted as "routine."
I am shocked. I had heard from my friends who left to USA after passing MBBS etc.. that Indian situation is much better than USA & USA is a kind of mad nation one has to go there only to earn money and learn a bit more about modern gadgets!..
..Here in USA even if you beat your child for some mistake you can get sued, Doctors would go on treating till either insurance cover is over or till no more procedure is left whereby they can get chalanged why that was not done, in court of law. In short everyone is scared about getting sued!
I feel fault is with US Law. Under the name of Freedom, Justice, Equality they are overdoing the the things & crossing limmits. On one side Guns are easily available & on other side medicines are not available. Freedom is not given to chemist to decide whether case is genuine or not & chemist will not give a single usual tablet to a patient when patient might have misplaced them.
I think Judicial system has tied rope around the neck of US society!
In case of Mad cow disease also dead cows have to be cremated. Cremation has no alternative.
saying that
"These are enormous subjects, often addressed emotionally rather than medically". etc..
appears an attempt not to call spade a spade.
If
"people's feelings on the subject vary widely and wildly".

Then here actually court must come into picture and give ruling... instead of punishing parents beating children making faults, or fighting prolonged divorse cases & other silly things which are result of not geting beating ( proper punishment) but teaching them relegions(!)which makes them either "Fanatic" or "produces careless attitude" depending on relegions, during childhood days making them irresponsible.


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Ingrid
Posted on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 12:33 pm:   

Gadrey,

If would be a great pleasure to me if before I pass from this world, wisdom would prevail over self interest and the spirit of the law would prevail over the letter of it, not just in this country, but the entire Planet.

However, without crossing too many sensitive lines here, you must understand that regardless of the Native American influences in this country (which I believe are attaining long deserved respect), we are essentially a country of diversity.

A few months ago, I took the position that cloning humans is ethical because only God can provide the soul required to animate the child who is created in this way. Theologians, scientists, bio-ethicists, etc. all took hardened positions on one side of the issue or the other, but when I went online to read the positions, I found them mostly divided along religious lines.

Of course, those who are cynical will see a new industry emerging from the capacity to exploit yet one more technological advance, but there are, fortunately, still some very sincere people in this part of the world, not all have given in to industrial medicine.

This said, it is my understanding that the prion associated with Mad Cow Disease is not destroyed by cremation. Friends who have studied this through microscopy have found viable prions from thousands of years ago so while cremation is a hygienic practice for dealing with certain forms of disease, it may not address the challenges of the prions!
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Joy Edgar
Posted on Sunday, December 12, 2004 - 03:43 am:   

My oldest son now 9, was circumcised the first time at age 6 due to a too long foreskin but the surgeon didn’t remove all of the foreskin (there was still some skin bunched up behind the rim of his penis head), and he had to be re- circumcised again about 5 months ago. The healing went without any problems and it looks very nice with no wrinkles what so ever even when his penis is flaccid, but over the last couple of months, he has been complaining quite often when he gets up in the morning and goes to the toilet that it hurts and that he can’t pee.

I took him back to the surgeon who did the last operation and he said that the left over skin was a bit too tight for when he has an erection but that it would stretch enough over a few months time. In the mean time, I have to wrap a cold wet facecloth around his penis so that his morning erection would go down and he can pee. My son also tends to have his hands inside his pants frequently lately, which is a bit embarrassing to me. Has anyone else experienced similar problems after their son’s circumcision?

I also have a 5-year-old son and would like to have him circumcised but I’m not sure if I should let the same surgeon who did my oldest son’s revision do his?
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Ingrid
Posted on Sunday, January 02, 2005 - 12:53 pm:   

Joy,

If I had this experience with a surgeon, you can be sure I would not go back, but then I don't believe in tampering with Nature either.
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Anonymous
Posted on Wednesday, April 06, 2005 - 03:40 pm:   

I wonder about the great disparity between Europe and USA where circumcision is concerned. Why in America over 60% of the male population -- vast majority of them non-Jewish and non-Moslem -- is circumcised compared to Europe's much smaller proportion, mainly limited to those of Jewish and Moslem descent.
What is the explanation for this divergence between Europe and America?
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Anonymous
Posted on Wednesday, November 09, 2005 - 12:38 pm:   

Hi Ingrid,
Great website by the way!
Must tell you though that cremation is not a common practice for Jews. By Jewish Law it is forbidden to cremate the body after death. According to Jewish Law the body is supposed to be buried.
Sure there are many cases where a Jewish person or the family decides to cremate the body but these are exceptions, mainly due to ignorance of Jewish Law, which is common among secular or non-observant Jews.
A Jewess

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