To make a fully informed decision. That is what should happen among parents who still have the legal choice to decide whether or not to circumcise their newborn baby. However, studies have shown that all too often parents are simply posed with this question and nothing more:
Would you like to circumcise your son?
Now, there are many inherent problems with this question as it is stated. One is that it would be much more appropriate to ask, "Would you like to keep your son intact?" as this is the natural, normal way human beings (and all mammals), be they male or female, enter the world. To alter or modify a baby's body at birth is not the 'norm' and the question should not be stated as though it is. There is simply nothing typical or natural about cutting off 1/3 to 3/4 (depending on the size of the prepuce organ) of a tiny baby's sensitive genitals immediately upon entrance into the world.
However, these same studies demonstrate that most of the medical personnel posing this question to parents know no more about the prepuce (the organ amputated in U.S. style circumcision) or the surgery of circumcision than the mothers and fathers who are making the decision.
Rarely is a fully informed choice made. And in the case of a newborn baby, this choice is never a fully informed consented choice.
In fact, I have yet to see a parent who is fully informed on the purposes of the prepuce and circumcision elect to cut their baby. It just doesn't happen. The more you know, the worse it is. Period.
I have, however, witnessed those who say they 'researched' the subject by going to Google and hitting up Brian Morris' sponsored sites, by reading MSN news media, Edgar Schoen quotes, or Yahoo reports... by opening headlines from The New York Times or Washington Post.
Sorry, folks, pop media or skewed info from the circumfetish cutting kings doesn't count as 'research' to being fully informed - especially not on this subject. Not when it directly deals with the health, development, bonding and well-being of YOUR BABY. Your child. Who will grow up to be an adult, with a body that was designed perfectly for him - or one that was modified without his consent.
In an effort to stamp out a fraction of the ignorance that resounds throughout pop culture on any given day in North America, there are a number of articles and informative pieces presented here at peaceful parenting. I spent the better portion of my graduate years studying this subject. But you don't have to take 8 years of your life, or hundreds of thousands of dollars, to complete your own quick course on the subject.
If you'd really like to be fully informed in this matter -- one that certainly becomes more urgent, more severe, more horrifying, the more you know -- please don't stop at this site. Dig deeper. Learn more. Open books. Pour over medical journals. Dive into discussions with scholars who are in-the-know; doctors who do study the prepuce and circumcision; historians who know the literature inside and out.
By simply reading the articles and links provided on this site alone, you will be more informed than the vast majority of the rest of the U.S. population on the prepuce organ and circumcision. Yet, I encourage you, if you feel so inclined, to keep going. Check it out for yourself. Don't just take my word for it. And if, while you are out there researching and writing and questioning and building your own mental library of data on this subject, you feel so inclined to come back and write for us here at peaceful parenting - we'd love to have your fresh voice of insight and experience in the matter.
The following is a listing of books, websites, and articles to start with. There are thousands of empirical, peer-reviewed, research journal articles out there on the subject -- those that have been written for the past 100 years on the prepuce and circumcision -- and unfortunately we cannot reasonably list them all here. But these sources will get you off to a great start at being FULLY INFORMED.
BOOKS
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Circumcision
Circumcision: What Every Parent Should Know
Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America
Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma
Circumcision: The Rest of the Story
Doctors Re-examine Circumcision
Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy
Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma
A Surgical Temptation: The Demonization of the Foreskin and the Rise of Circumcision in Britain
Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery
Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective
Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism
Circumcision Exposed: Rethinking a Medical and Cultural Tradition
In the Name of Humanity: Speaking Out Against Circumcision
40 Compelling Reasons Why You Should Respect His Birthright and Keep Your Son Whole
Children's Genitals Under the Knife
As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl [1 detailed example of the consequences of botched circumcision]
Sex as Nature Intended It
A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis
The Joy of Uncircumcising *also found as downloadable book here
Crystallized Pathology: The Clitoris, the Penis and Women's Sexual Health *currently limited and ordered by request SavingSons@gmail.com
Circumcision *Mothering reprint of articles
Prepuce, Circumcision, Intact Info Pack (includes 8 articles, 3 DVDs) from Saving Our Sons. Request here.
WEBSITES
http://www.circumcision.org
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org
http://www.drmomma.org
http://www.savingsons.org
http://www.circumstitions.com
http://www.cirp.org
http://www.noharmm.org
http://www.nocirc.org
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org
http://www.mgmbill.org
http://www.coloradonocirc.org
http://www.circinfosite.com
http://www.circumcisionandhiv.com
http://www.studentsforgenitalintegrity.org
http://www.historyofcircumcision.net/
http://www.circinfo.org/
http://www.thewholenetwork.org
http://www.intactamerica.org
http://stopthecut.org
http://www.oknocirc.com
http://circumcisiondecisionmaker.com
http://www.asnatureintended.info
http://www.icgi.org
http://www.theridgedband.info
http://www.notjustskin.org
http://www.stopinfantcircumcision.org
http://www.sexasnatureintendedit.com
http://www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org
http://www.infocirc.org
http://circumcisionquotes.com
http://www.sicsociety.org
http://www.4eric.org/
http://www.arclaw.org
http://www.norm.org
http://www.tlctugger.com
http://www.mothering.com
http://www.quranicpath.com/misconceptions/circumcision.html [Islam]
http://www.quran.org/khatne.htm [Islam]
http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org [Judaism]
http://www.catholicsagainstcircumcision.org [Catholicism]
ARTICLES
pertaining to circumcision and cataloged here at Saving Our Sons
The Phony Phimosis Diagnosis
Cut vs. Intact Outcome Statistics
Raising Intact Sons
Dr. Dean Edell Statement on Circumcision [+video]
2010 Meta-Analysis of 1200 studies concludes circumcision does much harm, no good
Dr. Dean Edell Statement on Circumcision [+video]
2010 Meta-Analysis of 1200 studies concludes circumcision does much harm, no good
Father/Son Matching Penises: Stop the Insanity! [Penn & Teller]
Restoration: The Uncircumcising of Men
The Day I Withdrew From Nursing School
How the Foreskin Protects Against UTIs
Death From Circumcision
The Day I Withdrew From Nursing School
How the Foreskin Protects Against UTIs
Death From Circumcision
You Made a Difference for That One
Circumcision: Already Illegal?
3rd Year Med Student Describes His 1st Circumcision Surgery
Circumcision: Already Illegal?
3rd Year Med Student Describes His 1st Circumcision Surgery
Circumcision: Take 3 (Jamie Brendon Stoud)
Babies DO Feel Circumcision Pain
Male Circumcision in the U.S.A. A Human Rights Primer
Dr. Aldeeb Encourages Action, Switzerland Moves Toward Universal Circumcision Ban
My Day [personal dialog]
2010 MGM Bill, March & Demonstration in Washington D.C.
Babies DO Feel Circumcision Pain
Male Circumcision in the U.S.A. A Human Rights Primer
Dr. Aldeeb Encourages Action, Switzerland Moves Toward Universal Circumcision Ban
My Day [personal dialog]
2010 MGM Bill, March & Demonstration in Washington D.C.
Circumcision & AIDS [video]
The Truth about Circumcision & HIV
African Circumcision Study Ends Early After HIV Increases Among Women
Hypospadias: Surgery and Circumcision
African Circumcision Study Ends Early After HIV Increases Among Women
Hypospadias: Surgery and Circumcision
Infection Takes Over Body After Circumcision [Pediatric Urology]
The Circumcision Decision with Dr. Dean Edell
The Appendix: Useful & Promising [much like the prepuce...]
Penn Says: Put Down the Knife - Step Away From the Baby
The Sexual Effects of Circumcision
Dr. Christane Northrup ("Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" author) on Circumcision
American Baby Magazine: Circumcision, Lies & CDC Misquotes
Circumcision: A Response to Skeptics
How to Care for an Intact Penis
Painful Urination
Basic Care of the Intact Child
Questions Regarding Normal Separation of Prepuce
The Sexual Effects of Circumcision
Dr. Christane Northrup ("Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" author) on Circumcision
American Baby Magazine: Circumcision, Lies & CDC Misquotes
Circumcision: A Response to Skeptics
How to Care for an Intact Penis
Painful Urination
Basic Care of the Intact Child
Questions Regarding Normal Separation of Prepuce
Information for Circumcised Fathers Making a Choice for their Sons
Avoiding the Cobra Pose: Circumcised Boys Move Bodies Differently
A Visitor is Shocked
Circumcised? Sue and Win
Thank you Daddy [Fathers who protected their sons are thanked]
Circumcision Info & Resource Links [all found on this page as well]
Circumcision Primer for Christians [authors unknown]
The Cruelest Cut: Fox News Report
Circumcision & Christianity [a soap box rant]
Avoiding the Cobra Pose: Circumcised Boys Move Bodies Differently
A Visitor is Shocked
Circumcised? Sue and Win
Thank you Daddy [Fathers who protected their sons are thanked]
Circumcision Info & Resource Links [all found on this page as well]
Circumcision Primer for Christians [authors unknown]
The Cruelest Cut: Fox News Report
Circumcision & Christianity [a soap box rant]
MA MGM Bill Hearing
Georganne Chapin on Fox News
Fox News Report on MA MGM Bill
MA MGM Bill Public Testimonies
Until the Violence Stops!
McGill University Study on Male Body Image & Genital Self Esteem
Circumcision: The Uncut Version (Kate Holt's site)
Cervical Cancer: A Reason for Circumcision?
Male Circumcision & Cervical Cancer
Cervical Cancer & Circumcision
Sandra Bullock Cuts Newly Adopted Son
Article Asks, "Are Infant Foreskins the New Botox?"
My Son is Circumcised, and I Support the MGM Bill
Turtle Heads
Stepping Away From Friendship in the Name of Human Rights
American Baby Intactivist in Scotland
A Strategic Approach to End Infant Circumcision in Canada

To request via mail, write to:
Saving Our Sons
P.O. Box 1302
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Info packs are mailed out within 48 hours of request.
~~~~
Georganne Chapin on Fox News
Fox News Report on MA MGM Bill
MA MGM Bill Public Testimonies
Until the Violence Stops!
McGill University Study on Male Body Image & Genital Self Esteem
Circumcision: The Uncut Version (Kate Holt's site)
Cervical Cancer: A Reason for Circumcision?
Male Circumcision & Cervical Cancer
Cervical Cancer & Circumcision
Sandra Bullock Cuts Newly Adopted Son
Article Asks, "Are Infant Foreskins the New Botox?"
My Son is Circumcised, and I Support the MGM Bill
Turtle Heads
Stepping Away From Friendship in the Name of Human Rights
American Baby Intactivist in Scotland
A Strategic Approach to End Infant Circumcision in Canada

To request a prepuce and circumcision information pack (8 articles, 3 DVDs) request via ($13) PayPal donation with a note included, or find more info here. A waiting list is available for those who cannot afford the cost of materials. No one will be turned away. Write to us at SavingSons@gmail.com.
To request via mail, write to:
Saving Our Sons
P.O. Box 1302
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Info packs are mailed out within 48 hours of request.
~~~~
Can a parent forcefully circumcise a 30 year old son? I don't see how this is different from circumcising a baby. By the time the person is 40 he is going to be circumcised whether it was done to him at age 30 or age 0, so what's the difference? There is no difference except that at least a 30 year old can fight back.
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