You're cutting What off?!

Abbey Normal

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Jul 9, 2005
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Circumcision battle lands parents of eight-year-old in US court Sat Feb 18, 3:38 AM ET

CHICAGO (AFP) - A clash over of their son's circumcision has landed the parents of an eight-year-old Illinois boy in a US court where there is no apparent precedent.

A Cook County judge ordered the mother in the case not to have her son circumcised until the court can hear arguments from the child's father, who opposes the operation, and decide if it is in the boy's best interest.

Jews and Muslims circumcise their sons for religious reasons.

But this case instead involves shifting medical and cultural preferences, which have recently become a matter of debate in the United States.

The mother, 31, is a homemaker from Northbrook, Illinois. She says two doctors recommended the procedure for health reasons.

But her ex-husband, 49, a building manager in Arlington Heights, Illinois, has called the procedure an "unnecessary amputation" that could cause his son physical and emotional harm.

In the 1900s, surgical circumcision, in which the foreskin of the penis is removed usually before a newborn leaves the hospital, was the norm in the United States.

But the percentage of US babies being circumcised has plunged from an estimated 90 percent in 1970 to some 60 percent now, data show.

The American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends routine neonatal circumcision but says the decision should be left to the parents. That has added fuel to the fire where until recently there was little debate on the issue at all among the US Christian majority.

Some staunch opponents of the procedure see it as akin to female genital mutilation. They argue that the procedure is medically unnecessary and morally wrong. Still others have launched support groups for those who have been circumcised and would rather not have been; some have even pursued surgical options for restoration.

Legal experts however say that there are no published US opinions to serve as precedents in this case. As such it normally would be determined based on the best interests of the child.

When the divorced parents appeared Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, Judge Jordan Kaplan got the two sides to agree that the child would not be circumcised "until further order of (the) court."

He also also ordered them not to discuss the case with their child.

Tracy Rizzo, an attorney for the mother, said the father scared the child by telling him frightening stories about what might happen if he were circumcised.

The father's lawyers, John D'Arco and Alan Toback, have argued that the couple's divorce agreement provides that the father must be consulted before any non-emergency medical care.

Male circumcision is much more widespread in the United States, Canada, and the Middle East than in Asia, South America, Central America, and most of Europe.
 
It is a shame. I guess some people will argue over anything and everything. At this point, I'm thinking that they should wait a few years and let the kid decide for himself. What do you guys think?
 
Abbey Normal said:
It is a shame. I guess some people will argue over anything and everything. At this point, I'm thinking that they should wait a few years and let the kid decide for himself. What do you guys think?

I don't think it matters one way or another---I've never heard any horror stories from a circumsized male. I'm sure that there have been cases of surgical errors as well as problems related to hygiene. I think it's just a power struggle like Mr. P.
 
dilloduck said:
I don't think it matters one way or another---I've never heard any horror stories from a circumsized male. I'm sure that there have been cases of surgical errors as well as problems related to hygiene. I think it's just a power struggle like Mr. P.

Yes, so I think the way to end the struggle may be to let the boy decide for himself when he is mature enough to do so. Take the power away from the parents and end the arguing.

But I wonder if a boy would ever choose circumcision, or is the prospect of a scalpel down there just too scary?
 
Abbey Normal said:
Yes, so I think the way to end the struggle may be to let the boy decide for himself when he is mature enough to do so. Take the power away from the parents and end the arguing.

But I wonder if a boy would ever choose circumcision, or is the prospect of a scalpel down there just too scary?

if i had the KKK hood it would stay...the german helmet looks cooler though
 
Abbey Normal said:
Yes, so I think the way to end the struggle may be to let the boy decide for himself when he is mature enough to do so. Take the power away from the parents and end the arguing.

But I wonder if a boy would ever choose circumcision, or is the prospect of a scalpel down there just too scary?


They'll just find something else to fight about. This ain't about circumscision
 
Abbey Normal said:
Yes, so I think the way to end the struggle may be to let the boy decide for himself when he is mature enough to do so. Take the power away from the parents and end the arguing.

But I wonder if a boy would ever choose circumcision, or is the prospect of a scalpel down there just too scary?

I would never volunteer for circumcision (even if I wasn't circumcised already). The only truly humane way to do it is when the kid's too young to remember it.

However, if you do it early, circumcision makes hygiene easier, and I hear it also aids in sexual performance.
 
I would not have a son circumcised. It's a Jewish ritual mutilation. I understand that at one time, it was a foregone conclusion --- the doctors assumed it was wanted. I wonder if these weren't Jewish doctors trying to make the penises of the world look Jewish so that Jews wouldn't stand out. Back in history, they could tell if you were a Jew just by looking down there and seeing missing penis skin.
 
Yeah, definitely a power struggle. I also think the best thing to do at this point would be to wait until the kid was old enough to decide for himself. Although he may have years ahead of being made fun of in the locker room.
 

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