CIRCUMCISION INFORMATION NETWORK Volume 3, Number 5, 1 February 1996 E-mail: CircInfoNe@aol.com The purpose of this weekly bulletin is to educate the public about and to protect children and other non-consenting persons from genital mutilation. Readers are encouraged to copy and redistribute it, and to contribute written material. --Rich Angell, Editor. RUPERT BILL BANNING GENITAL MUTILATION PASSES SENATE Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado), Tuesday, 30 January 1996 An article by Jennifer Mears, Associated Press Contributed by Jere Debacker DENVER -- Without debate, the Senate on Monday advanced a bill that makes female genital mutilation -- a tradition in some African and Middle Eastern Cultures -- a crime in Colorado. The bill, which also requires Colorado to create a program to educate the public about the procedure, won preliminary approval on a voice vote and faces a final Senate vote. Sen. Dorothy Rupert, D-Boulder, introduced SB31 after attending the Women's Conference in Beijing, last fall. While it is unclear how common the practice is in Colorado, the issue has been gaining wider attention as people move to the United States and bring the practice with them. "It's something that is difficult to talk about," she said. "But torture is torture." SB31 makes the practice a crime of child abuse and calls for sanctions not only against those who perform the procedure, but also against parents or guardians who allow the procedure to be performed on a child. During committee debate last week, some legislators wondered whether Rupert was targeting a serious problem in Colorado. Rupert said the bill is designed to be educational more than punitive. Katie Reinisch, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood, told the committee last week several gynecologists she had spoken with had seen evidence of the practice. U.S.-BOUND MALE ORPHANS, BEWARE Contributed by Olivia Reyes, AdoptFla@aol.com I recently heard about your newsletter your group's campaign against the medical practice of circumcision. I am affiliated with three major adoption and child welfare agencies here in the greater Miami area, one of which is Catholic. I have to tell you that you people are trying to undo the good that has been done for child care in the civilized world. I personally know of several hundred children every year that either come into the US for adoption from Latin America or are referred to child welfare services that deal with the Latin America community in Florida which is very large. Our agencies mercifully arrange for circumcision of male children, mostly babies that come into the US for adoption. They have been deprived of good medical care in their home countries. Circumcision, for God's sake, is an act of the civilized world. It is preventative medicine at its best and you know of all the diseases that are prevented by circumcision. To oppose circumcision is to go back to the age of ignorance. To encourage people to abandon established sound practices is irresponsible. AMERICAN MEDICAL FRAUD Contributed by gburlin@eskimo.com (Gary Burlingame) The AAP statement on circumcision says, "The Academy says that circumcision has potential medical benefits and advantages, as well as inherent disadvantages and risks. Therefore, the Academy recommends that the decision to circumcise is one best made by parents in consultation with their pediatrician. Factors affecting the parents' decision include medical factors, aesthetics, religion, cultural attitudes, social pressures and tradition. Pediatricians should explain and discuss the benefits and risks of circumcision with parents, and informed consent should be obtained before the procedure is performed." I have these questions: Exactly WHY should social concerns be considered as input to a question of surgery? Exactly WHY does a medical document like "Circumcision: Pros and Cons" mention religious circumcision? Exactly HOW MUCH does it hurt a helpless baby to be circumcised without anesthetic? Exactly WHY does Sweden have a higher male longevity than the US, yet they are intact? Why doesn't the AAP study Sweden and learn the various things they do right, such as leaving their children intact? Why does body integrity never seem to figure into the AAP's equations about well-being? Why does the AAP let its members break the laws against soliciting for unnecessary surgery in every state, vis-a-vis circumcision? Does the statement on circumcision include females as well as males? SCREAM OF THE WEEK (Statements Documenting Infant Circumcision Pain) Submitted by Johnny4444@aol.com "Infants undergoing circumcision without anesthesia demonstrate physiologic responses suggesting that they are experiencing pain. The observed responses include behavioral, cardiovascular, and hormonal changes. Pain pathways as well as the cortical and subcortical centers necessary for pain perception are well developed by the third trimester. Responses to painful stimuli have been documented in neonates of all viable gestational ages. Behavioral changes include a cry pattern indicating distress during the circumcision procedure and changes in activity (irritability, varying sleep patterns) and in infant-maternal interaction for the first few hours after...." (Report of the Task Force on Circumcision, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1989) FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION call NOCIRC, the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers at (415) 488-9883, fax (415) 488-9660. Ask about the resource provider nearest you. For written information, write NOCIRC, PO Box 2512, San Anselmo, CA 94979, with SASE and/or donation if possible.