The Fertile Monk
Becoming a dad is a bit like becoming a monk. It requires devotion.
Survival
means protecting our freedom from ever more powerful government agents.
...mothers whose mates are circumcised, and the mates themselves, who have no concept of the unique characteristics related to sexual intimacy of the
uncircumcised penis, yet will make a final decision for their baby. --Nancy R. Cooksey, BSN, ICCE, IBCLC, St. Louis, MO. Circ Info Network 940628
We also struggled with the ethical dilemma of botched circumcisions and
unconcerned physicians (Ethical Dilemmas, March) at our own hospital. The more we educated ourselves about the issues, the more we came to the conclusion that every circumcision is a botch job since it is an assault
on a child's sexuality and a violation of his right to an intact body. --Betty Katz Sperlich, RN, Mary Conant, RN, American Journal of Nursing, June
1994. Circ Info Network 940628
When there's too much bleeding, they burn the wound with silver nitrate so that the penis looks like it's been burned with a cigarette. Then the doctor will tell us to go tell the mother that this is what it's supposed to look like. --Circ Info Network 950327
We've talked a lot about how we're expected to be "reasonable" when talking about circumcision, so people don't feel threatened. But don't you ever want to run screaming down the street?
Absolutely. I want to throw my body in front of the door to the
circ room and tell the parents, "You're not going to do that to your
baby!" It makes me wonder why I haven't done that yet? It's the old
accomplice thing, you know: "If you're an accomplice, then you're an
enabler." It's really heavy. Not only that, but the people who are still
doing it want us to "respect" them. Are they really thinking what they're
asking of us? They're baby torturers! How can I respect them? --Nurses For the Rights of the Child, Circ Info Network 950428
...we dealt with it the way women deal with things when they feel powerless. When it came time to do one, we would just make ourselves scarce. When I did have to assist, I would not look at the circumcision. I would look at the baby's face, and maybe put my finger in his mouth to pacify him. But whatever name you call it--mutilation, torture, creating a wound, violation it was going on, and I was never looking. It was crazy! Now we're conscientious objectors, but it's still going on. We can still hear it. --Circ Info Network 950327
Sometimes I'll see a father with his son right after birth, and the bonding is really great. The baby is looking at the father, and the father is ecstatic he's communicating with his baby. Yet, he has his son circumcised. Afterward, the baby won't look at the father, and the father wants to know, 'Why won't my baby look at me?' --Circ Info Network 950327
Vancouver, Canada. The routine circumcision of male babies was condemned by the province's registered nurses at their annual convention in Vancouver. The nurses also agreed that routine circumcision has numerous complications that are rarely communicated to parents, and that most medical authorities worldwide believe newborn males have a right to remain intact except in rare instances. --Circ Info Network 950327
fathermag.com The on-line magazine for men with families.
The Medical Basis for Routine Circumcision
A quest for official medical authorities of the western world that advocate child circumcision. The historical basis of the procedure.
Child Circumcision
How did it become popular in the us? Why is it in such rapid decline today?
Protect Your Son
How a father discovered, too late, that circumcision is not a good thing.
fathermag.com