Thank you for an awesome article !

Thanks Mellisse for your comment........please pass the word to anyone you know who may benefit from the seminar - it will be very informative and compassionate to help families decide what is best for them. www.birthcenter2012.com to see the full calendar. Have a great summer!

I have nothing against this barbaric custom of circumcision, but only if you have it done to yourself, as an adult.
However, surgically cutting off part of someone else's genitals, even your own family member, means you should be legally charged with criminal felonious assault and battery as well as a few other charges - esp if you do such a thing to a defenseless child.

Coming from Great Britain where only Jewish people get it done to their boys, I was shocked that my son (and husband) is the odd one out over here for still being intact. The question never came up during my pregnancy, it's just not something that is done.

Ann, it is great that you have formed your own opinion and decision about how you feel about circumcision. This seminar we are presenting will give facts to others so they can feel comfortable with what is right for their family too. Circumcision can be a deep and thoughtful decision that can bring up many emotions for families. There is religion and much history about this surgery wrapped up in the many years of this happening. All this and more will be discussed in this seminar in a compassionate way so families feel supported during this decision process. Your comment about being legally charged is your opinion and of course as you know not based in fact of the legal structure currently set up. Thank you for your voice, it lends the proof that this is a very hot topic and a great thing to do is get educated and start myth busting.

Vanessa, the more and more I research about this as well, comparing it to how it is in the US, I was shocked in a different way........in the sense of how many other places in the world don't circumcise. I completely see that it is such a cultural decision, alot of times using a herd mentality, not thinking about what is right for your family, just going along because everyone else did it. Things are changing in this country, 68% of US parents are saying no to circ. And our friends to the north, 91% of Canadians say no. And with the fact that no medical organization in the world recommends circ, it seems that we are on a road of more education and therefore families making the right decision for them.

I'm amazed at the all female response to this article. As someone very unhappy with being circumcised, I can't believe what lengths america will go to make a buck. Just seen on Facebook, the whole network, that infant foreskin is sold for $600 for research purposes & such. Please parents, ask yourself which part of your daughter would you like to cut off & attribute to possible future health care risks?? Seems more barbaric when you relate it to your daughter!! Unfortunately Americans see circ as the norm & find uncirc to be unsightly! Just don't understand why it is a point of research when it is all about the money! Look to the rest of the world & their extremely low circa rate!

I applaud you Janice. I too have a son (7 months now) and I DID NOT cut him. Where I delivered they were "the Circumcision cult" constantly saying I HAD TOO/NEED TOO to do it. I was VERY against it. No Doctor at the hospital could give me ONE valid reason why I needed to do that to my son. All they kept saying was "well its just not clean." I kept saying "So, a little more soap and water wont hurt right?!" As I rolled my eyes at them.. I got the dirty looks. But I didnt care. I'm gald you did whats BEST for your child. I know whats best for mine!!!! & the best part is when hubbys are behind you 100%! Mine was and still is!

Both as a medical procedure and as a religious practice, circumcision is truly in a class all by itself. It is the only time surgery is performed on children without a diagnosis. It is the only time parents can insist that a doctor cut off normal, healthy tissue from their child, despite the obvious risk of complications. It is the only time that such cutting on children can be done for cosmetic reasons.

No other surgery is considered an alternative to proper hygiene. No other surgery that removes a normal part of an organ is claimed to result in no loss of function.

The majority of parents in Michigan simply want to make Junior’s penis look “nice” like Daddy’s and other boys’, but hide behind medical and religious arguments. They are simply disgusted by the sight of their son’s intact genitals. If their need for genital conformity could no longer masquerade as a medical procedure or as a harmless religious practice, circumcision would run the risk of being reclassified as child endangerment and criminal assault.

Norm Cohen
Director
NOCIRC of Michigan

I can see both sides. I have one son who is circumcised and one who isn't (the younger one). They are only 17 months apart in age, but I did some more research in between them (had more time to prepare/research with #2 because we knew he was a boy ahead of time; #1 was a 'surprise'). My husband was fine either way. He didn't see any reason to do it (to my shame, even with my older son...I was behind that one, sadly). Sometimes I worry about what I'm going to tell my kids...but I really feel that this will help them be accepting of either way. I somewhat regret having my older son cut (they did leave a lot of the skin though) but I def. don't regret it with my older son (even though I was asked probably 3 or more times at the hospital if I wanted it done). It has taken our families a little time to get used to the idea, but they haven't said anything negative about it. There just are no good reasons to do it, and if I have any more boys, they will not be cut either.

I'm not sure where all of you read about it, but from what I read ... there are a lot of medical benefits to having it done. Also, there are religious aspects to the surgery, so I'm a bit confused why so many of you talking like ti's the worst thing in the world. Whether you believe in another's God or not, be respectful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

Everyone has been quite respectful so far. In fact, nobody yet has criticized anyone for having this procedure done to themselves.

What is horrible, is when somebody hurts, painfully cuts, permanently mutilates another person's genitals other than themselves, against his will, and most especially when someone executes genital mutilation onto a defenseless girl or boy who is under the age of 21. Yikes!

Sharon,
Frankly, I dont care one bit what you do to your own body if you are an adult, you can pierce it, cut it, circumcise it, inject it, breath smoke into it, fatten it, tatoo it, whatever, Go get yourself circumcised right now if you haven't already!! . go for it!!!!!

.................just don't hurt, cut, mutilate, or kill, someone else.

Does that mean, Ann, that you are pro choice? I hope so, I don't think government belongs in my doctor's office making my choices for me or members of my family. How we make our decisions is OUR business. Not yours, not anyone else's. This article is about a seminar that enables you to make informed personal choices. Why should that get anyone's panties in a bunch?

Ann, why are you continuing to peruse the Troy Patch? Don't you have any issues in Florida where you live? Read the paper there. Alot of issues to fix in Florida.

I've known several adult men who chose to be circumcised later in life & said the pain was excruciating & lasted longer than expected.  Conversely, I've seen many "freshly" circumcised babies who exhibited only the briefest amount of discomfort. Lastly, aside from performing circumcision for religious reasons, it's my understanding that an uncircumcised male may increase the risk of HPV & cervical cancer to his partner. Also, being circumcised makes hygiene much easier & less worrisome for both partners.

To Ann G.....first of all, this discussion & my comments make NO REFERENCE to the circumcision of girls. Most people know that to be a barbaric act used to repress women in some 3rd world countries & it is not allowed in America. Secondly, babies "all wail and cry and make ugly hurting faces (they cant talk!), and it looks horrible and disgusting!". If you find it "horrible & disgusting" I think you were working in the wrong place. Lastly, to cite a court decision in Germany regarding inflicting "bodily harm" I find ironic, considering the number of bodies they "harmed" in 2 world wars! Circumcicision, especially in the hospital of a new born male baby is neither barbaric nor harmful. To insinuate that it is I find to be fear-mongering with no basis in fact. To all who are protesting it, I say let it remain the choice of the parents or of the adult male.

By reading the choice of adjectives in your posts, Ann, I'm of the opinion that you are obviously not able to converse objectively. The discussion I was attempting to have is that if the choice by a PARENT for male circumcision of a new-born...whether for religious reasons or perceived health reasons...it should not be labeled a "mutilating, barbaric" act. If you don't want (or didn't want) to make that choice, that's fine. But to label those parents who DO choose circumcision for their male infant basically...and these are MY adjectives...child abusers is nothing more than rabid hysteria!

"But to label those parents who DO choose circumcision for their male infant basically...and these are MY adjectives...child abusers......................."
===========================================================
"child abuser" is a weak understatement

I don't know whether you're really a hater, ignorant or just want to be provocative ... you're displaying characteristics of all three. If you want the "final words" take them and .... darn, this is a nice public forum so I can't say what you should do with them!

Those who want these things done to little girls and boys, can not in any way justify this act. Therefore, they have continually tried to counter with personal attacks, and have been hijacking this topic and trying to change this topic to a topic about me or others who do not do this to children. Continued postings about me or other personal attacks, prove out that there is no justification, and no defense, and no reasonable explanations, for these mutilations. Please at least try to come up with something relevant to the subject matter. Any continued personal attacks on posters, will only serve to highlight that this barbaric ancient ritual is defenseless and has no merit nor any saving grace.

I am absolutely in the second camp. I do not care if you are offended by my telling you that there is absolutely no justification for cutting someone else's genitals without their consent!

Odd that a group of women comment, and like two guys, on a male issue. Joe, why are you unhappy?

Now... you want to talk about terrible things done to kids... let's talk about the hideous haircuts you give them/make them get. A circ, nobody knows about unless you tell them, but that whacked 'do is not hidden and the fodder of many schoolyard jokes and taunts, causing your kids 6-8 weeks of severe emotional anguish lasting a lifetime.

Joking aside, I can say mine has worked as it should for decades, and has never given nor received an infection. I am thankful that I have less chance of acquiring an STD or HIV, as well as UTIs, yeast infections and cancer.

What was the downside again?

Asked my son. He has no memory of his bris. And if you are arguing that it causes extreme emotional damage that can impede a man's success in personal and business relationships later in life, let's look at a sample group, say, Jewish men, almost 100% of whom are circumcised eight days after birth. I'd say they'd be considered OVERachieving, not a blithering mass of traumatized, ineffectual adults. Check out the list of Nobel prize winners.

Mom C, so right....er, CORRECT!

Proven Complications and Risks of Circumcision: At least one out of every 500 circumcisions in the US results in a serious surgical accident. bleeding, infection, BXO, UTI's, meatal ulceration, meatal stenosis, Urethral Fistula, iatrogenic hypospadias and epispadias, lymphedema, complications from anesthesia, vomiting, apnea, rupture of internal organs, blood clots, heart damage, leg cyanosis, buried penis, adhesions, excessive skin loss/denudation of the penile shaft, chordee, cysts, skin tags and bridges, pitting of the glans, plastibell complications, excessive scarring and keloid formation, impotence, amputation of the glans, partial or total penile amputation, necrosis, necrotizing fascitis, death.

In addition, circumcision guarantees a loss of the natural benefits of the foreskin, which include: gliding motion that offers moving pressure versus friction to both the male and female during intercourse, additional moisture contributed by the mucous membrane beneath the foreskin on the glans, gliding action of the foreskin allows the moisture to remain in the vagina during intercourse versus drying up due to friction and air exposure from lack of foreskin, tens of thousands of erogenous nerve endings in 5 areas of the foreskin that are routinely amputated during circumcision. The frenulum is the most sensitive part of the circumcised penis which is less sensitive than all 5 of the areas removed by circumcision. A male also loses his right to self-determination

Proven benefits of circumcision: none.

Mom C. - perhaps overcompensating for lack of a prepuce i.e. reduced penis size. Did you know that circumcised men are 60% more likely to suffer from Alexitheymia? It is the inability to process emotions. Overachievers are notably troubled in the area of intimacy so no, it doesn't surprise me at all that so many Jewish men are so "successful".

The amount of tissue removed from the penis of a baby ends up being about 15 square inches in an adult male. That's about the size of a 3x5 card - GONE from a man's penis. That's why you will often hear men and women who are educated on the topic circumcision refer to it as 'penis reduction surgery.'

Lady, you ARE nuts!! The equivalent of a "3x5 card ...GONE..."?! That's a whole lot extra to handle.

Indebttoo, I have obviously struck a chord, as you now have revealed that it is not beneath you to be the name-caller. This subject isn't about me, it is about the human rights that are violated thousands of times every day because our culture accepts and promotes it. It's about children that don't have a voice, and men that never had a choice.

Obviously, I very much resent being called an anti-semite and a sanctimonious bigot but I have to point out that Mom C. brought in her own 'research population' of Jewish men to the conversation as representative of a circumcised population. I was commenting on Jewish men as the circumcised population. I made no derogatory reference to the nationality or religion of the circumcised men. So, you are wrong. It was not an anti-antisemitic nor a bigoted statement.

There are lots of successful men who resent being circumcised.

http://www.circumstitions.com/Resent.html

You have all missed the entire point. This is about parents making the best decision for their children and their families. Just as with other personal decisions, everyone needs to BUTT OUT of other peoples medical offices and bedrooms. Jennifer and indebtoo are certainly entitled to their opinions, but they do not have the right to impose it on anyone else.

Indebttoo, I find it rather ironic that you're talking about independence day and not imposing your beliefs on anyone, yet you're for routine infant circumcision! RIC is a direct violation of the baby's individual rights. You talk about it being an individual's choice?! You're right, his body his choice!

Give baby boys their freedom, say NO to circumcision!

If not wanting to strap my newborn son down into a position that is unnatural for him and amputating a useful, normal part of his body makes me a wackjob then I guess I'm a wackjob! Proud to be one!

"Snip-a-Dee-Do-Dah! Snip-a-Dee-Ay!" "Clip clip here, clip clip there." Running modified, don't care either way, its personal business. It is nothing like, say, clitoral circumcision practiced in some quarters. That is truly mutilation of a child. Everyone move along please, nothing to see here.

Ann/Jennifer... All I know is that I the doctor, or nurse, who did mine (when I was a infant) did an excellent job. Nice symmetry, nice even cut. It's pretty much a work of art!!

A guy with no circumcision is like a woman who doesn't shave their legs....kind of disgusting.

I find it amusing that it's the men commenting pro-circumcision on this article- y'know, the guys actually affected by it.

Jennifer said, " The frenulum is the most sensitive part of the circumcised penis which is less sensitive than all 5 of the areas removed by circumcision. A male also loses his right to self-determination". Funny, being circumcised didn't make me any less confident- in fact, it didn't affect my confidence at all.

I will admit that there are some benefits to not being cut, such as being able to feel more during intercourse. However, I'd say the benefits of being cut far outweigh the cons. I'd say a lower chance of infection/disease is a good tradeoff for a slight reduction in pleasure.

All circumcised men have a strong psychological incentive to believe that their circumcision was beneficial. Otherwise, they'd have to face the fact that their rights were violated. It still doesn't justify anyone choosing to cut up someone else's penis. Circumcised men still get HIV, they still get STD's, they still get UTI's . . . there is no proven benefit to circumcision. Only condoms are proven to prevent disease.

http://www.moralogous.com/2012/05/04/debate-motives-and-rationalization/

Jennifer...why do you care so much? You don't have one (at least I assume you don't). There is nothing wrong with parents circumsizing their boys at birth, so get off your soap box. Why don't you use your energies to do something useful. Quit disrespecting the cut crown! Maybe you should talk to the guys at "tuggers"....these men are having foreskin reattached to their unit. They are also weird.

I assure you, I've read several articles throughout the years about it. I'm not ignorant to this debate at all, Jennifer. I've carefully weighed the pros and cons about circumcision throughout one's teenage and adult years, and I've come to the conclusion that it's towards one's benefit. This isn't psychological incentive, as you put it. These are hard facts and science.

I'm not saying getting cut fully prevents anything- and anyone with common sense would realize that isn't the case. I suppose the best comparison is exercise. It's advised to exercise because it can help cut your risk for certain diseases versus if you don't exercise. It's not guaranteed to prevent them, but it helps reduce the risk.

As for "rights being violated", I'd like to note that children's rights are limited until they're 18. Until that time, it's up to their parent or guardian to determine what is right for them. I'm not going to say parents should do X or Y- that's up to each individual parent and it's not my place to say there's a concrete answer, but to not have a child circumcised because you feel they have some right to that foreskin is questionable.

Now, I won't deny that there are people who regret having this done. There are more procedures now than ever to restore that foreskin, and they've been proven to work. I see it as safer to get a child cut to cut down the risk on disease, and if they regret it- after making that adult choice later in life- getting it undone.

Oh you guys...Ferndale Resident, 4x4 driver, Dennis, Mark...you've shared intelligent, clever, objective AND subjective replies that have been a pleasure to read today! Keep it up ;-)

Jennifer, please take a look at these articles:

http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news68/en/index.html
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/204/9/1375

If those aren't enough for you:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2912604/?tool=pmcentrez
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=279008

As for your argument about losing pleasure, that's an acceptable loss for preventing the spread of disease. What good is a "whole" child if they're going to get a painful infection or disease? I can guarantee that those are just as bad- if not worse- than a surgery they won't even remember from their childhood.

Please, stop bringing up female circumcision. WHO defines female circumcision as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." (Since you love sources, here's this one: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs241/en/index.html)

The issue with your comparison to female circumcision is that male circumcision is done for a medical reason- to prevent infection and disease. Male circumcision is a far cry from female circumcision, so please do not use that as a comparison.

Further, to claim that circumcision is a form of abuse ("Children are protected from being abused or put in danger.") is offensive to parents who have thought out the pros and cons, and have ultimately chosen to circumcise.

It is also not routinely practiced in South Korea, where my sons, (whom I did not give birth to, but still instinctively protect them, regardless of your opinion that apparently you can only be protective of "little people you give birth to") were born.

I said that I resent being called and anti-semite. I don't hate anything. My comment about circumcised men having increased risk of a psychological disorder causing them to be devoid of emotion and relating it to similar attributes in over-achievers was in reference to the group put up by someone else as the study group. My only mistake was in referring to the group as Jewish. I am sorry if it offended you or anyone else, that certainly was not my intent.

In reference to other anti-circumcision activists . . . I do not have the same philosophy as the crowd who uses adversarial speech such as what you have seen here. It is counter-productive. However, I can't control what other people say. I did send a personal note to the person whose comments here were most offensive and asked her to change her focus, but just as I can't force people to stop circumcising their sons, I can't force other activists to stop expressing their outrage. This is a delicate issue for so many reasons and the majority of the activists with whom I do associate share with me the same advocacy philosophy. We aim to stop the cultural practice of circumcision in the U.S. by educating parents to make fully informed decisions. By nature of this, the rates will go down organically when parents fully understand what it is they are taking away from their sons . . . mainly, their freedom to choose what parts of their body they get to keep and to weigh the risks/benefits for themselves.

It is just a money maker for the doctors and hospitals. It is a sick practice. Stop it now!

And this convo shouldn't be about "I am offended" unless you were the child to be put on the slicing board... by OTHERS!
It's not a pissing match to see pro's and con's, wrong question to answer down, but rather,
WHY CUT what's healthy, and on someone else... who is a minor too?!!
And why adults "need" to make a decision on somebody else sex organ for a surgery that's NOT emergency of life and death but "elective", and which is risky and has potential serious side effects (included letal) and is not necessary for treatment when there is less invasive treatments for the "conditions told to prevent", AND while this individual person is a minor???

What about pinning the ears on dobermans and boxers, or bobbing the tails on spaniels? How about hermaphrodites... would you all just raise an 'it' until 'it' was 18? And then there's tonsilectomies performed to prevent future tonsilitis. Did you have your children inoculated (vaccination) against diseases that don't really exist anymore (smallpox, polio), or against largely harmless ones (chickenpox). Even though there are many cases that go wrong - including autism and death - many parents think nothing of jamming a bunch of toxins/poisons/live diseases into their kids in the name of possible prevention. How is that any different?

I am glad when people leave their son's as nature made them, he will be able to have a normal and natural sex life. I know many parent's cut their sons because they thought they were doing the right thing for them and were misled by medical professionals and doctors. Remember people, doctors make $$$ by doing circumcisions and the majority of them are also cut so they don't know what the foreskin is and how important it is to men and women. In the 18 states where public medical insurance no longer covers circumcision (it is a cosmetic procedure), more and more boys are growing up intact. 85% of men in the world have foreskins and less than 1% choose to circumcise as adults for medical or personal reasons. That means 99% of men circumcised as children would have kept their natural bodies.

The FACT is YOUR CHILD YOUR CHOICE!!! No matter what anyone or any article says, ALL IN ALL the best choice is made by the parents of the child! NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO TELL YOU WHATS RIGHT OR WRONG DUE DO YOUR OPINIONS OR WHAT YOU "THINK" MAY BE RIGHT! This is America, THIS IS WHY WE LIVE HERE; FREEDOM TO DO! More of you need to put the energy into teaching your children respect TO others, put more effort into EDUCATION, and STOP with the she said he said Im right BS!

Kimberly....thanks for putting it in simple terms some othe these extremists can understand: MY CHILD, MY CHOICE. Jennifer and Ann need to mind their own business and, like you said, "stop with the he said she said BS".

Some (not ALL) of these women don't understand how a man's unit works. Mine has been "circ'ed" since birth and it works just fine. Neither my wife or I have any complaints. If I lost any girth from this, it's probably a good thing since that would really wreck her (same with length). We circ'ed both our boys because we felt it was the right thing to do. OUR KIDS, OUR DECISION. My wife backed me up on this, 100%.

Kimberly, thanks for adding logic to this discussion....it was desparetly needed.

This has been a lengthy & often heated discussion.  One personal result is that it allowed me to read many of the cited links; some I find to contain mainly objective analysis, while others appear to me to be more subjective in their conclusions.  I did learn that, aside from Judaism, circumcision is most prevalent within the Muslin religion (the world's 2nd largest religion).

According to statistics, this is current make-up of global religion:
Christians 33.32% (of which Roman Catholics 16.99%, Protestants 5.78%, 
Orthodox 3.53%, Anglicans 1.25%), Muslims 21.01%, Hindus 13.26%, 
Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.35%, Jews 0.23%, Baha’is 0.12%, other religions 11.78%, non-religious 11.77%, atheists 2.32%

Continued below...

Thank you so much everyone for your energy, input, passion and desire to educate others on your personal viewpoint. The back and forth discussions illustrate the exact reason The Circumcision Decision class was created.

What this blog post and this class has intended to be is to provide fact based information for families swimming in a sea of confusion and myths and opinions. The class is not intended to make any one choose to circ - or - not to circ. We support families to do extensive research about circumcision before making this very important decision.

The opportunity to watch a circ video in class is given so that families choosing this medical procedure understands what their child will experience. If we were all to come from a place of awareness and compassion, I suspect we could support each other tremendously during these important life decisions.

As I don't want to silence anyones speech, I also wonder if we have reached our limit on discussion - knowing that to 'agree to disagree' might be the outcome here. Aren't we all just trying to do the best we can for our families? If we can cut through the fear and judgement and get to facts and evidence based information - the outcome will probably be what we all want..............feeling confident and prepared to make the best circ decision for your family.

Please do not use circs.org as a reference for circumcision information. It is run by Jake H. Waskett, a known circumfetishist. For those who don't know, he is associated with the Gilgal Society, a group of individuals who derive erotic pleasure from reading, watching and talking about circumcision.

http://circleaks.org/index.php?title=Jake_H._Waskett

Apparently, the concept of human rights and bioethics is something that eludes the majority here. I will leave you all with some resources to better understand the concept of autonomy and self-determination as a birth right. This is a protection that is given to our daughters (only since 1997) but not to our sons.

http://arclaw.org/resources

I'm biting my tongue....

indebtoo,
Its best too. Some people need the last word to feel like they "changed the world" in some matter. People need to let this TOPIC GO! Like I said before YOUR CHILD, YOUR CHOICE! No matter what article or book you post; its all a waste of some persons' time. Because parents minds have been made up and who "are you" to tell them they are right or wrong. It shouldnt matter.

As an RN with 50 yrs experience, publications, including a smartphone app i4SkinHealth, FarReach.org the host site, info@farreach.org for more info. I am a long time friend and admirer of Marilyn Milos - who states circumcision is a human rights issue. Having a child is not owning him. It is not owning his penis. Everything about his body is his, including the foreskin, his to keep forever unless someone poisons him against thinking he is perfect intact. There is no 'circumcision decision' to be made at birth, there is a 'protection obligation', of every single body part and everything to do with his health. The foreskin is healthy, circumcisions not healthy it is an injury and may cause long term health problems. There are no benefits to circumcision. Harming a child to look like a circumcised father keeps the father in denial and from learning how to restore is foreskin and achieving body completion. Circumcision causes post traumatic stress disorder including panic attacks in many infants, children and adults.
What people need to let go is circumcision. As a 6,000 year old Bronze Age sacrificial ritual and method of enslavement it should be history, not contemporary medical practice.
Any parent who is pro-circumcision has been severely manipulated, defrauded, and robbed. As it has no benefit circumcision is not a medical practice (Dr. James Snyder). The only valid 'circumcision decision' is that of 'uncircumcision' i.e. foreskin restoration.

Dennis, women who protect the penis are hardly envious! Most are glad they were born female on this continent and thus escaped being mutilated. Why would a man be against his foreskin? Because he doesn't have one and feels he has lost something. Maybe foreskin envy is the more appropriate problem! A radio host in England has several call in and talk sessions on this issue and found it was the case. Circumcised men are very envious that intact men have greater pleasure and are more successful sexually than they are.

Hey, Betty White...no one is listening....all we here is, "blah, blah, blah". You aren't going to change the world.

More sexually successful with the turtle neck pulled up over the head? Really? Most women don't like that...they say it has no personality when the head is covered. How many licks does it take to get to the center of an uncirc'd tootsie pop...let's find out....ZERO! No woman is going near that one.

Ohhhhhhhh, how clever you are to try and botch my name.
And, I don't want some European, Scandinavian, Geisha girl -- I like normal corn fed mid western girls (to put it nicely). Most US women don't want to see the disaster of an uncirc'd unit.

BTW, you are wrong, circumcision is not child abuse. Child abuse is telling your son that you didn't circumcise him because you were trying to make a statement with him -- get over your holier than thou attitude.

The anti-circumcision crowd is the same group that thinks vaccines are linked to autism. They need a crusade in their life, they need to feel like they are 'saving the children'.

Busybodies.

To use a slight variation of what Representative Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) said - I'm flattered that you're all so interested in my p%$#@, but no thank you!

*I wasn't sure if Patch would let that word go through.

Alright, one last post and then I gotta go. This is just too funny. So the author is the owner of an alternative birthing center who profits from every birth that doesn't happen in a hospital. One of the reasons you might want to have your baby in a hospital (there are about 1,000) is that if you want to have a circumcision performed it's smartest to have it done in a sterile environment by and experienced practitioner with the resources nearby in case of emergency...which she doesn't have.

Ergo, self-serving bunk delivered as news.

Christopher - last post....best I have read yet. You are also right in how it's some women saying how much it hurts....that had me puzzled too. They must hate moms who get their baby girls' ears pierced.

Thanks to all of you for this often-thoughtful, sometimes humorous discourse. Before the conversation gets even more off-topic, we're closing down the comments on this blog post. We appreciate your opinions.