tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post2956166021288585246..comments2023-09-24T10:04:33.297-04:00Comments on drudgery + delight: RecommendationsHollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00965575825820215817noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-68839827721133697612010-04-12T08:42:44.666-04:002010-04-12T08:42:44.666-04:00Holly, First to help you understand the function o...Holly, First to help you understand the function of the male and female prepuce, a brief history of its developemental stages.<br /> In the womb we all start out feminine because of our original X chromosomes. Then when the evolved Y chromosomes functions kick in the Womb's parts close up and the labias and clitoral hood, now called foreskin end up at the tip of the clitoris now called the glans , the nerves in the G spot get elongated into the Gee string. Part of the lower Labias major now enclose the testicals. As a woman you know that these parts of the prepuce cause sexual arrousal when played with same function as in men. Withholding these functions is dishonest, subversive when persueding people to cut them off.<br /> Second, In infant male and females, as well as the elderly, UTI's are caused from unclean diapers, not from having a prepuce. Claiming that UTI's are caused from having a prepuce is dishonest, in denial to parental irresponcibility. Othet UTI's resulting as STD's, originated from having sex with animals. Claiming that the prepuce allows STD infections, is again to hide the truth to how exactly these infection showed up in humans.<br /> Thirdly, Sexual trauma to anyone distroyes neurological function to the affected areas and adjacent brain parts and chemistry. Sexual violence to anyone is known to cause PTSD's, even concenting adults.FredRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01559306576651965555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-18467664465901395242010-04-09T22:19:24.657-04:002010-04-09T22:19:24.657-04:00There probably aren't statistically significan...There probably aren't statistically significant risks to cutting a child's earlobes off, but that wouldn't make it acceptable. In fact, it's not legal to cut healthy living tissue off children at all, with one exception - the male prepuce.<br /><br />The risks of male circumcision include amputation and death btw. Those are both very rare but do happen - isn't that enough to stop people doing it?<br /><br />I regard it as inaccurate and inflammatory to suggest that female and male circumcision are fundamentally different. You're talking about the worst cases of female circumcision, but some forms of female circumcision do less damage than the usual form of male circumcision. Sometimes there's just an incision with nothing actually removed. One form just removes the clitoral hood (the female foreskin), so it's the exact equivalent of cutting off a boy's foreskin.<br /><br />(male circumcision can be pretty bad too btw - 79 deaths last year in just one province of South Africa)<br /><br />Why is it illegal even to make a symbolic pin-prick on a girl's genitals, but not to cut part of a boy's pen1s off? Many Muslims consider it their religious right to cut parts off their daughters, but it was still made illegal.<br /><br />Doesn't everyone have the right not to have parts of their genitals cut off unless there's an urgent medical reason?<br /><br />Not all Jewish people believe in circumcision. Brit Shalom is an alternative naming ceremony to celebrate the birth of baby boys to Jewish families. These sites are all run by Jewish people opposed to circumcision:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.jewishcircumcision.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.jewishcircumcision.org/</a><br /><a href="http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org/</a><br /><a href="http://www.circumcision.org/" rel="nofollow"> http://www.circumcision.org/</a>Mark Lyndonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08781475927979224765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-49981171560372557982010-04-09T15:18:29.106-04:002010-04-09T15:18:29.106-04:00Thank you for the fact based arguments.
I am the...Thank you for the fact based arguments. <br /><br />I am the mother of two girls. However, as a Jew, it wouldn't have been a question for me whether or not to circumcise. It is beyond medical for our family, though I feel that the <b><i>impartial</i></b> scientific articles do rule that circumcision is not harmful to our children. Choosing it for our families does not make us old irrational barbarians or bad parents. <br /><br />Circumcision is something I would have chosen for my son. He would have left my arms into his grandfather's, where the procedure would have been performed by a urologist trained as a <i>mohel</i>. He would then be returned to my arms. He would have nursed and fallen asleep. If his healing ran its course with the vast majority of babies who are circumcised, a statistic even higher for those circumcised by a <i>mohel</i>, he would have been fully healed in a few days time.<br /><br />@Mark, you site rulings that do not recommend routine circumcision. However, they do not say that the risks are statistically significant enough to discourage it. <br /><br />The comparison of female to male circumcision is inaccurate and inflammatory. The male equivalent of female 'circumcision' is the removal of the foreskin and the entirety of the glans, the tissue at the head of the penis. Additionally, the opening to the vaginal canal is often stitched shut during female 'circumcision.' There is no male equivalent.<br /><br />Bottom line: There are strong feelings on all sides of an issue. Bravo to Holly for a reasoned argument that transcends emotions.Leah Wolff-Pellingrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15646544681727297148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-14314815501613449702010-04-07T20:26:25.959-04:002010-04-07T20:26:25.959-04:00It's not enough to say circumcision "redu...It's not enough to say circumcision "reduces the risk" of this or that disease without some figures. When a disease is very rare and circumcision makes it rarer, you can get a huge figure for the difference with very little actual benefit. "Circumcision reduces UTIs tenfold" Wowee! But since it's from 1% to 0.1% (by circumcision advocates' own figures) that's 991 circumcisions in every 1000 wasted (1 on a boy who will get UTI anyway, and 990 on boys who weren't ever going to get them). Likewise penile cancer, one of the rarest of cancers (rarer than male breast cancer), and many studies find no significant difference in STDs.Hugh7https://www.blogger.com/profile/13643814759518204711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-58552836467716866002010-04-07T20:22:01.020-04:002010-04-07T20:22:01.020-04:00Here is a comprehensive review of the claims that ...Here is <a href="http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/17469600.2.3.193?cookieSet=1" rel="nofollow">a comprehensive review</a> of the claims that circumcision prevents HIV. Since that was published, a study in Uganda (Wawer <i>et al.</i>, Lancet 374:9685, 229-237) has shown (it was stopped early "for futility") that circumcision does not protect women from infection by men (and women are at greater risk already). Since 50% <i>more</i> of the women with circumcised partners became HIV+, circumcision may even increase the risk, but stopping early prevented that from reaching statistical significance.<br /><br />And now a study has just come out (Bassler et al., JAMA. 2010;303(12):1180-1187) showing that stopping a trial early makes it more likely to seem to show a benefit, even if there is none. All three of the African trials on which the claims for circumcision are based were stopped early. This is especially so where events are few (less than 500). The total number of events (men becoming HIV+) in the three trials was 201 (65, 69 and 67).<br /><br />Yes, "parents make many decisions for their children" - but there is no other decision like this one - to cut a normal, healthy, functional, non-renewing part of the anatomy off, absent any medical indication except being male. Why the anomaly? The most nearly corresponding part of the female anatomy is specifically protected by Federal and many state laws, with no exemption for religion or culture, and sometimes not even the adult woman's informed consent. Why the double standard?<br /><br />Your acknowledgement of your own irrational aspect is only the tip of the iceberg. For millenia, circumcision has been promoted through fear, fear of breaking the Covenant, then fear of this or that disease - always the most fearsome of its day (so it was inevitable that AIDS would join the long line) - and fear of failing to conform.<br /><br />Intact America and Mothering are sending a petition, not a scientific paper. Many of the signatories add first person statements about how much they hate having been circumcised. Before you say "get a life", ask whose body is it? Whose rights? And sometimes, whose life?Hugh7https://www.blogger.com/profile/13643814759518204711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-62593796915820217972010-04-07T12:29:31.607-04:002010-04-07T12:29:31.607-04:00I have let my subscription to Mothering magazine d...I have let my subscription to Mothering magazine drop b/c I finally got weary of the not-well-sourced arguments about various medical issues (including vaccines). In many ways, my parenting values are in tune with much of what Mothering promotes, but I've finally been turned off by the smug certainty of their scientific writing. Your analysis here is spot-on.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000470374101306070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-3861856221571905042010-04-07T08:52:26.929-04:002010-04-07T08:52:26.929-04:00Brilliant!
Having blogged about Intact America...Brilliant!<br /><br />Having <a href="http://circumcisionnews.blogspot.com/2009/10/analysis-of-intact-america-propaganda.html" rel="nofollow">blogged</a> about Intact America's campaign previously, I was pleased to read your analysis of this petition. It was the model of clear thinking.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079606157046664850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3353313609163431746.post-26173339572032289512010-04-07T08:07:35.012-04:002010-04-07T08:07:35.012-04:00These are the current positions of other English-s...These are the current positions of other English-speaking medical bodies:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/fn/fn96-01.htm" rel="nofollow">Canadian Paediatric Society</a><br /><i>"Recommendation: Circumcision of newborns should not be routinely performed."</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/pregnancy&babies/circumcision.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/pregnancy&babies/circumcision.htm</a><br /><i>"Circumcision is a 'non-therapeutic' procedure, which means it is not medically necessary."<br />"After reviewing the scientific evidence for and against circumcision, the CPS does not recommend routine circumcision for newborn boys. Many paediatricians no longer perform circumcisions.</i> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.racp.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=B5610716-9E3E-6C97-A8D87880FD002E3B" rel="nofollow">RACP Policy Statement on Circumcision</a> <br /><i>"After extensive review of the literature, the Paediatrics & Child Health Division of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians has concluded that there is no medical reason for routine newborn male circumcision."</i><br />(almost all the men responsible for this statement will be circumcised themselves, as the male circumcision rate in Australia in 1950 was about 90%. "Routine" circumcision is now *banned* in public hospitals in Australia in all states except one.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bma.org.uk/ethics/consent_and_capacity/malecircumcision2006.jsp#Circumcisionformedicalpurposes" rel="nofollow">British Medical Association: The law and ethics of male circumcision - guidance for doctors</a><br /><i>"to circumcise for therapeutic reasons where medical research has shown other techniques to be at least as effective and less invasive would be unethical and inappropriate."</i><br /><br />The only thing that's changed recently is the promotion of circumcision to fight HIV in Africa.<br /><br />In Europe, almost no-one circumcises unless they're Muslim or Jewish, and they have significantly lower rates of almost all STI's including HIV.<br /><br />Even in Africa, there are six countries where men are *more* likely to be HIV+ if they've been circumcised: Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, and Swaziland. Eg in Malawi, the HIV rate is 13.2% among circumcised men, but only 9.5% among intact men. In Rwanda, the HIV rate is 3.5% among circumcised men, but only 2.1% among intact men. If circumcision really worked against AIDS, this just wouldn't happen. We now have people calling circumcision a "vaccine" or "invisible condom", and viewing circumcision as an alternative to condoms. . The South African National Communication Survey on HIV/AIDS, 2009 found that 15% of adults across age groups "believe that circumcised men do not need to use condoms".<br /><br />The one study into male-to-female transmission showed a 54% higher rate in the group where the men had been circumcised btw.<br /><br />ABC (Abstinence, Being faithful, Condoms) is the way forward. Promoting genital surgery will cost lives, not save them.<br /><br />Remember that circumcision won't make any difference unless someone is having unsafe sex with an HIV+ partner.<br /><br />Female circumcision seems to protect against HIV too btw, but we wouldn't investigate cutting off women's labia or prepuces, and then start promoting that. Different rules seem to apply to the male prepuce though - it's the only part of the body where healthy living tissue is routinely removed.<br /><br />Neither you nor the CDC seem to have considered the possibility that foreskin might have a value. It is in fact the most sensitive part of the penis - it's not just there to protect the glans. Even on a circumcised man, the glans isn't the most sensitive part of the penis (it's usually the scar line, or the frenulum if that wasn't removed).<br /><br />I'd like to write waaay more, but time is short. References available on request.Mark Lyndonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08781475927979224765noreply@blogger.com