bjb@drutx.UUCP (BarnesBJ) (03/20/85)
THE CIRCUMCISION DECISION I would like to hear the pro's and con's of circumcising infant boys other than for religious reasons.
joeh@sftig.UUCP (J.Hefner) (03/21/85)
> THE CIRCUMCISION DECISION > > I would like to hear the pro's and con's of circumcising > infant boys other than for religious reasons. I'm sure that some may find this perhaps bad taste for for net.kids, but here goes. I'm first generation German Catholic my wife second generation Irish Catholic. I am not circumsized and don't think anyone should be. I have two boys aged 7 and 6 (also a girl, but that's another matter). At the time of our first boy's birth my wife had read all the available info on the big C and there was still some remanents of the incorrect theory that non-C means unclean. Perhaps in the Pacific jungles of World War II that was true (often used as an example), but not today. There was also circulating at the time an additional incorrect theory that wives of non-C men are more prone to cancer of the Cervix. That has since been refuted since the study was based in several European countries where there are many non-C men, but also women with poor health care, and the researcher did not account for other factors. My wife felt strongly enough at the time to strongly push for the big-C. I was so happy at the time I agreed. Then came our second boy. By now I heard both the above theories were hogwash, and had to discuss the matter with my wife's Ob/gyn. He was on the teaching staff at Yale Medical School, was Jewish and performed C as part of his hospital duties and as an Merle at his synagogue. I have the ultimate respect for this man. His recommendation was that if he were not Jewish he would never do it to his sons. I did not know what to do. My wife and I were torn. Do we now have the boys different or multilate them both. Since the large majority of boys were still having it done I again backed down. I understand that finally the tide is turning and that more enlightened people are willing brave the scorn of the peers by not opting for C. Your friends and family will say "don't you know it's unclean". Beware.
eve@ssc-bee.UUCP (Michael Eve) (03/22/85)
> THE CIRCUMCISION DECISION > > I would like to hear the pro's and con's of circumcising > infant boys other than for religious reasons. A big, local health cooperative here recommends against circumcision (for those of you who don't know, circumcision is a particularly nasty form of mutilation inflected upon young boys, invented by ignorant sheepherders thousands of years ago who never washed themselves). The coop has a film which they showed to their employees and other interested people in which an infant is circumcised. The infant cries a great deal because the procedure is painful. The coop recommends against circumcision not because of the pain, but because the risk of infection as a result of circumcision is far greater than the risk of health hazards of not being circumcised. With proper hygiene (including not trying to retract the foreskin for washing until it is ready to be retracted), there should be no problems. -- Mike Eve Boeing Aerospace, Seattle ...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!eve
peg@linus.UUCP (Margaret E. Craft) (03/25/85)
Both HMO's (Health Maintenance Organizations) that I dealt with when making this decision recommended against it. The newest studies show that there are more problems involved in circumsizing than in leaving nature alone. Everyone I know who has decided YES have admitted that the only rationale was that son would "look like" father. Well, adult genitals are so different from kiddie ones, that I doubt that under-13-year-olds would notice that detail... The trend is toward noncircumcision, so the "looking like everyone else" argument is also beginning to lose validity. Maybe in 20 years or so the practise will die a natural death.
rlr@avsdS.UUCP (Rhode L. Roberts) (03/29/85)
> THE CIRCUMCISION DECISION > > I would like to hear the pro's and con's of circumcising > infant boys other than for religious reasons. *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** My wife and I adopded our first boy. We were at the Hospital for his birth and took him home right away. We decided to have him circumcised. The current thinking of the medical profession is not to circumcise. This proved to be painfull for us as the doctor who did the operation did not believe in it and did a very poor job, just barely removing anything. Effectivly, this leaves our child with what appears to be a mutilated penis. Our second boy was not operated on because of the prior experience. We originally wanted the children to be circumcised so that they would be similar to thier father. This is my second marriage, for the child that was born during the first marriage, he was circumcised. His also was a problem as for some reason he didn't heal properly and wound up having to be operated on three times. Any way I feel that any operation at such a young age must have some horrible psychological effects. If you want a good circumcision go to a Rabbi! (I was raised catholic)
hsc@ahuta.UUCP (h.cohen) (03/30/85)
REFERENCES: <2298@drutx.UUCP>, <307@ssc-bee.UUCP> Jews and Moslems, among others, practice ritual circumcision of male children. Mike Eve's bombastic reference to "... ignorant sheepherders who never washed..." is gratuitous anti-Semitism and extremely offensive. Of course, it is also totally irrelevant to the circumcision issue. My impression is that Mr. Eve finds circumcision personally, subjectively repellant for esthetic (or neurotic?) reasons, and that this strong feeling requires a scapegoat. Shame on you, Mr. Eve. Harvey S. Cohen ahuta!hsc
fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann) (03/31/85)
In article <ahuta.550> hsc@ahuta.UUCP (h.cohen) writes: >REFERENCES: <2298@drutx.UUCP>, <307@ssc-bee.UUCP> > >Jews and Moslems, among others, practice ritual circumcision of >male children. Mike Eve's bombastic reference to "... ignorant >sheepherders who never washed..." is gratuitous anti-Semitism >and extremely offensive. Of course, it is also totally irrelevant >to the circumcision issue. My impression is that Mr. Eve finds >circumcision personally, subjectively repellant for esthetic >(or neurotic?) reasons, and that this strong feeling requires >a scapegoat. Shame on you, Mr. Eve. >Harvey S. Cohen ahuta!hsc Circumcision probably did not originate among Hebrews. It is may well have been a practice of many tribes in that and other areas. It may or may not have originated among sheep herders. Very few of these prehistoric people enjoyed indoor plumbing, and fewer still attended an accredited university. Thus, to call them ignorant sheepherders who never washed, is at best a reasonable hypothesis, and at worst a sloppy exaggeration. Haven't you ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? Let's save our flames for anti-semites who really mean it. Frank Silbermann