I have had a really hard time finding the right way to talk about this very important topic, but today I decided to find those words share my opinions.
First off it is probably best to let you know that I did circumcise my son. My husband and I regretted our choice to circumcise almost immediately. It was a hard decision to make and I personally believe it was one we shouldn't have had to make. During my pregnancy I already knew that my hormones and my feelings where running high, and my husband being the sensitive guy he is knew he was more emotional as well. So when it came to making a decision about whether or not we would circumcise our son we set out to only look at the cold hard facts, no moral code or emotions where allowed in this decision. So we set off to find as much scientific facts on circumcision as we could. We saw a lot about how circumcision reduces STDs, UTIs, and promotes cleanliness to reduce infections due to poor hygiene. We decided not to risk those and decided circumcision was the right choice. To be honest the idea that a little boy would be responsible to carefully clean himself to prevent infections terrified me so much, I think that was my breaking point. Circumcision isn't that simple tough.
Your moral code should be considered when making this choice. The moral implication that you have the right to cut part of somebody’s body off of them without their consent and without a life threatening emergency just because you are their parents is unethical. You shouldn't be able to mis-treat your child and your role as their parent because of a slight possibility of health complications. We don’t remove the appendix or tonsils from children as soon as they are born because it isn't okay to remove a part of somebody’s body just because it might become an issue. Luckily it was never routinely done but there was a time when it was okay to circumcise women as well. In 1996 this practice became illegal, but un cut women are far more likely to have an UTI than a uncut man. So why do we do this to our sons?
The anti RIC (routine infant circumcision) community gets under my skin even though I agree with them. Why? They go for very aggressive terms trying to guilt people or shock them into not doing circumcision. Terms like genital mutilation, torture, and sexual violence. I understand that they are just trying to make their message clear and shocking enough to help you understand how big this issue is. The problem is that it scares people away from listening to you. It also makes people feel like anyone who does circumcise is a monster but in most cases they are just misinformed, or not informed enough. I personally think these terms imply that intent of these parents were to harm their children. The majority of the United States is honestly convinced that circumcision is healthiest for their child. If you want to people to listen to you, you need to have a kind heart.
Like I said before this decision shouldn't be in the hands of parents. The average parent is not a medical expert, they don’t have all the information regarding circumcision and there is only a few short emotional months to figure it out. We need to ban this barbaric custom, medically there is no reason for RIC and the risk to the infant can be deadly. The fact the hospitals have been doing this unnecessary procedure for decades without any need makes me sick. We are suppose to be able to trust them with our health not fight them to keep our sons healthy and intact. I know some people would like to argue for those that do it for religious reason. I don’t think parents have the right to force religion on a child especially in such a permanent way. If an adult man wants to be circumcised, he can make that choice for himself nobody has the right to make that choice for him. You do not have the right to claim somebody else’s body.
