CIRCUMCISION INFORMATION NETWORK Volume 3, Number 22, 4 June 1996 E-mail: CircInfoNe@aol.com The purpose of this weekly 1000-word 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. CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION Last week's "Stupid Quote of the Week" was contributed by donmorgan@nas.com (Don Morgan) and read "Circumcision never did ME any harm, " supposedly stated by Hymie Goldberg, inventor of KY Jelly and taken on 17 May 1996 from CIRquote. The editor of CIN failed to note that this was originally presented as "for the humor impaired," and that it was nothing more than humor. It was a friend of Don's who made it up. CIN regrets having reported this quote as fact without questioning it. "STAND FOR CHILDREN" RALLY IN WASHINGTON, D.C. Contributed by albfie@p3.net (Al Fields). We non-circumcision advocates arrived at Constitution and 23rd and set up a large display board of literature from NOCIRC and NOHARMM. We were located on the main route from the from the Metro to the rally. Countless people stopped at looked, and many took literature. Several hundred pieces of literature were taken or handed out. Several times during the afternoon Hispanics stopped, smiled and commented 'that was something they didn't do.' A young woman carrying an infant on her back, who had lived in Denmark for several years, stopped to tell us her son was intact, but he had been born in America and she had to insist he be left alone. A young woman whose brother was intact stopped to tell us her brother had considered circumcision, group dynamics...most of his college classmates were. He had gone to a urologist for the surgery, the urologist had marked the circle (line) to be cut, he realized what he was about to loose and left before the urologist could do the surgery. Of the hundreds of pieces of literature, most were taken by women. Of the thousands of people who walked past the display, there were absolutely no bad comments, nor was there even a single time when anyone was 'ill at ease'. For those of us present this was a very positive and rewarding experience. CIRCUMCISION IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE (Title of Letters sub section), New York Times, Letters to the Editor Section, Saturday, 25 May 1996 Contributed by BarryBE@aol.com To the Editor: Re "The Unkindest Cut? How Circumcision Came Full Circle" (Week in Review, May 19): There are millions of species of mammals, reptiles and birds. All -- male and female -- have a foreskin, or prepuce. What Dr. Edgar Schoen, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' 1989 task force on circumcision, and others would have you believe is that out of all those species, only one -- the North American male human -- needs to undergo amputative surgery to be healthy and clean. In my opinion, circumcision is not a medical issue; it is a human rights issue. Rich Angell, Palo Alto, Calif. Note: This letter was read by Dr. Dean Edell on his nationally syndicated radio program. GHASTLY INTERNET PHOTOS AVAILABLE Contributed by ralexand@epix.net (Ronald D. Alexander). Just finished looking -- aghast -- at photos of the procedures involved in performing a circumcision and the fine detailing -- in ghastly color -- a botched operation. Cannot forget them. My God, what we do to our flesh and blood whom we say we love! If that's the way we treat our loved ones, it doesn't surprise me how we commit atrocities on our enemies. Especially gruesome was the picture of the forceps being used to tear away the flesh from the head of the penis. I will think of this the next time I rip off the skin from a chicken breast prior to cooking, only the chicken is dead and cannot feel the pain. This is an outrage. If caring parents could be shown this procedure before it is committed on their sons, they might opt to abandon it. CAUTION: This is strong stuff! http://www.cirp.org/CIRP/library/procedure/plastibell http://www.chmc.org/departmt/surgery/exstroph/fourn.htm "THE FORESKIN IS NECESSARY" An article by Paul M. Fleiss. MD, MPH, and Frederick Hodges Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, April 1996. Contributed by typist DYKS96A@prodigy.com ( GEORGE HILL) Ninth of a nine-part series. Conclusion: Circumcision always poses serious life-threatening and lifelong health risks for males. The foreskin is a normal and functional body part. The foreskin requires no special care and should be left alone. The physician today has a duty to discourage circumcision and to refuse to perform it. Physicians today have a unique historic opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past by realigning medical practice with ethics and the principles of human rights. Every individual has the right to the body he or she was born with. Physicians have a right to protect this right and to uphold the first tenet of the Hippocratic oath "First, DO No Harm." Townsend Letter For Doctors and Patients 911 Tyler Street Port Townsend, WA 98368-6541 Tel: (360) 385-6021 Fax (360) 385-0699 STUPID QUOTE OF THE WEEK "I do 30 to 40 circumcisions a year, and if I saw any indication that it was torture I wouldn't do it. After all, I'm not aware of any medical benefit." Sarina Schrager, a family practitioner in Berwyn, Illinois, as quoted in The Wall Street Journal, "Anxious Parents Question Merits Of Circumcision," 28 May 1996. 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. For further internet information, contact the Doctors Opposing Circumcision Web site at http://weber.u.washington.edu/~gcd/DOC.