Indelible Marks

"I find it interesting that in this country we scream bloody murder (pun intended) at the practice of female circumcision, and yet we routinely abuse newborn males (naturally without their consent) by forcing them to undergo this barbaric practice. And religion has nothing to do with it, at least as far as child abuse is concerned. Either male and female children are equal or they are not."

	More on Circumcision News: Rabbis Confront Circumcision Doubts Which faiths perform the ritual? See our circumcision chart. A Jewish Mother Questions Tradition by Lisa Braver Moss The Cut That Almost Wasn't by Nancy Cahners "Why I Perform Circumcisions" by mohelet Dorothy F. Greenbaum Paul Got Christians Off the Hook by Thomas Lynch

"Having performed many circumcisions, I have been exposed to the whole gamut of attitudes toward circumcision, from horror to apathy. Unfortunately, the most common reason that most people ask me to circumcise their sons is that they believe that everyone else does it too. The minimal health advantages are not compelling. The disadvantages I have heard (decreased sensation, increased masturbation) are even less. I wish that it would be a carefully considered decision for more people! I must vehemently disagree that female circumcision is comparable to male circumcision. Female circumcision is horrifyingly mutilating, often leading to severe infection, urinary dysfunction, and usually makes intercourse and childbearing an excessively traumatic experience for the victim. Do not be led into thinking that male circumcision is at all the same level of mutilation."

"I've got two boys, both of whom remain in the condition in which they arrived, if you get my meaning. I've never understood the boys-looking-like-their-father justification for circumcision. If this is done so that the child doesn't feel awkward, how much time is this boy going to spend looking at his father's penis?"

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