FACTS
Read below to learn some facts about circumcision and to better understand the harm it causes.
Please note that some links take you to pages with photos of actual circumcision surgeries. These images are real and may be disturbing to some people. Viewer discretion is advised.
Penile
Anatomy
Cirumcision History
The Circumcisin Surgery
Circumcision Issues
Penile Anatomy
All males are born with a foreskin. The foreskin is an extension of the shaft skin that folds over itself covering all or most of the glans (head of the penis). The adult foreskin measures about the size of a 3.5" by 5" index card, or about 15 square inches. The surface of the inner foreskin and the glans is mucous membrane like the inside of the mouth, inner eyelid and vagina. The inner foreskin has a series of ridges that are sensitive to changes in temperature, texture and motion. The foreskin contains many lymph vessels (part of the body's immune system), approximately three to four feet of blood vessels, 240 feet of nerves and 10,000 - 20,000 nerve endings.
At birth, the foreskin and glans are one structure and the foreskin does not retract. As the child grows, the tissue that connects the foreskin and glans breaks down. As the tissue cells die off, they are shed through the foreskin opening and the prepucial space is created, eventually allowing the foreskin to be retracted. This process can take many years to complete. A child's foreskin may separate long before the opening of the foreskin has relaxed enough for the foreskin to be retracted. A child's foreskin should never be forcibly retracted. Doing so will tear apart the natural protective connection of the glans and foreskin causing pain, bleeding and an open wound that can become infected. The first person to retract a child's foreskin should be the child himself. NEVER FORCIBLY RETRACT A CHILD'S FORESKIN!
The foreskin protects the glans from feces, bacteria, detergents and the abrasion and irritation of clothing and diapers. Though some boys' foreskins retract at an earlier age, it is perfectly normal for the foreskin to remain non-retractable until the end of puberty.
The adult inner foreskin secretes a lubricant called smegma. Smegma is not a sign of infection, nor is it dirty. The mobility of the foreskin along the shaft of the penis combined with the natural lubrication of the foreskin and glans allows for frictionless masturbation and intercourse. Intact males are able to stimulate themselves and their female partners with pressure rather than friction.
The inner foreskin is highly erogenous tissue. Intact men report that the inner foreskin is the most sensitive part of the penis. Men who have been circumcised later in life, and have experienced sex both with and without a foreskin, overwhelmingly agree that circumcision reduces sexual pleasure significantly. According to a study published in the prestigious British Journal of Urology (January, 1999), women who have had both intact and circumcised sexual partners report that they experience more vaginal orgasms and less discomfort from intercourse with an intact man. The foreskin aids in lubrication during intercourse and reduces the amount of friction, thereby making the use artificial lubricants rarely necessary.
The exact origins and reasons for circumcision are unknown. The earliest recorded account of a circumcision was found on an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph dated circa 2400 B.C. Circumcision was not invented by Jews or Muslims, though both peoples have made the surgery a part of their religion and/or culture. Jews perform the circumcision surgery on their sons on the eighth day of the child's life as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews. Circumcision is not a requirement of the Muslim faith, but has become a part of the culture in many Muslim countries. Often both males and females are circumcised in Muslim countries.
The circumcision that was performed in biblical times is far different from the surgery performed today. The early surgery removed only the tip of the foreskin that extended beyond the glans penis. The natural connection of the foreskin and glans was not disturbed and the foreskin was left relatively intact. During the Hellenistic Period, the surgery changed to include the complete denuding of the glans and amputation of the entire foreskin, and often, the frenulum.
Non-religious circumcision was adopted by American doctors in the late 1800's to early 1900's as a punishment and prevention for masturbation, which was socially unacceptable and thought to cause a host of ills including blindness, paralysis, epilepsy and insanity. Though a few other (mainly English speaking) countries briefly adopted infant circumcision, it was discontinued after medical evidence could no longer support the practice. Despite the overwhelming medical evidence against infant circumcision, the United States is the only country in the world that continues to routinely circumcise the majority of its male infants for non-religious reasons.
In 1971 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued its first statement on circumcision concluding that "there is no absolute medical indication for newborn circumcision," and again in 1999, the AAP stated that "circumcision is not essential to a child's well-being at birth," and any potential benefits "are not compelling enough to warrant the AAP to recommend routine newborn circumcision." In its August 2000 statement on circumcision, the American Medical Association called the procedure "non-therapeutic."
No national health organization in the world, including the AAP, the American Medical Association, the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Australaisian Association of Paediatric Surgeons, The Australian Medical Association, and the British Medical Association, recommends routine infant circumcision.
More Americans are beginning to question the necessity of infant circumcision. At last count, 40% of American parents refused circumcisions for their sons. The most recent information available on infant circumcision (from the National Center for Health Statistics, 1997) shows these statistics by region: Northeast - 68.3%, Midwest - 81.6%, South - 64.5%, West - 38%. More recent data from HCIA-Sachs (May, 1999) show the national infant circumcision rate has dropped 11% in just five years.
Around the world, 85% of the male population has intact (not circumcised) genitals.
Typically, circumcisions in the United States are performed on an infant a few hours or days after birth. The infant is placed on a plastic board, called a Circumstraint, which is molded to fit his body. His arms and legs are strapped down so he is unable to move. He is covered with a draping and his genitals are scrubbed with antiseptic. His foreskin is grasped with a forceps and a probe is inserted under the foreskin as the foreskin is literally torn apart from the glans. His foreskin is slit from the tip to the ridge of the glans and it is peeled back. A plastic or metal bell is placed over the glans to keep it from being cut off with the foreskin. The foreskin is placed back over the bell and clamped tightly to stop the blood flow. The foreskin is then cut off above the clamp. After several minutes, the clamp is removed and the wound is dressed.
Only 25% of obstetricians, the doctors most likely to perform the newborn circumcision, use anesthesia on an infant because using anesthesia carries its own additional risks and complications.
Legal, Political and
Social Issues of Circumcision
Circumcision of newborn males is the only
elective and cosmetic procedure routinely solicited by doctors and hospitals
immediately after birth. Parents are often presented with a circumcision consent
form upon admittance to the hospital or during or right after their son's
birth. Frequently, mothers who have been medicated during birth are asked
to sign a consent form before the drugs have worn off and they can think
clearly. The aggressive and persistent tactics of many hospitals to get a
consent form signed lead many parents to believe that circumcision is necessary
and beneficial to their son. Many parents who decline circumcision the first
time report being asked to sign a consent form several more times by several
different people during their hospital stay.
By law, doctors and hospitals are required to
obtain informed consent before they can perform any procedure on a patient.
Few parents are ever told about the functions of the foreskin, the risks
of circumcision, that a reasonable alternative is to not circumcise
and that circumcision is not medically necessary. Physicians and hospitals
that fail to provide informed consent are in violation of the law. Currently,
several families are taking legal action against
their physicians and hospitals for failure to provide informed consent.
Some insurance companies have dropped circumcision
from their list of covered procedures because it is not medically necessary.
Many companies, however, still cover neonatal circumcisions simply because
it is socially acceptable.
In most states, Medicaid tax dollars are still
used to cover non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision. However, more and more
states are rethinking this waste of scarce healthcare dollars and are eliminating
coverage of non-therapeutic circumcisions. Ten states, Arizona,
California, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nevada, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington, no longer pay for routine
neonatal circumcision through Medicaid. More
states are expected to drop coverage as they realize the funds used on
circumcisions can be put to better use.
Female
Genital Mutilation has been outlawed in the United States but because
this law is gender specific, it is in violation of the 14th Amendment to
the Constitution that affords equal protection to all Americans.
The American
Academy of Pediatrics estimates that each year, "1.2 million newborn
males are circumcised in the United States annually at a cost of between
$150 and $270 million." That estimate does not include fees for supplies,
hospital and nursing fees or expenses for follow-up care of circumcisions
that result in complication. All tolled, circumcision is a multi-billion
dollar-a-year industry. Those who promote circumcision have great financial
incentive for the practice to continue.
