Circumcision is a Painful, Costly and Unnecessary Procedure
Target:Centers for Disease Control Sponsored by:Intact America
No medical society in the world recommends male circumcision - yet newborn circumcision is the most common surgical procedure in the U.S.
Safer sexual practices and abstinence - not circumcision - prevent sexually transmitted diseases. And we know that there is NO link between infant circumcision and better health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reviewing new health claims about the "benefits" of circumcision - and may recommend this unnecessary surgery for our baby boys based on flawed studies that ignore the risks and ethics of circumcision.
As a U.S. agency safeguarding public health, the CDC has a responsibility to share the truth about this painful and unnecessary practice. Help prevent a government recommendation of routine newborn male circumcision by signing our petition to the CDC.
We took action on “Circumcision is a Painful, Costly and Unnecessary Procedure”!
# 13,668:
5:22 pm PST, Nov 20,George Tolleson, North Carolina
# 13,667:
4:41 pm PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, Connecticut
If abstinence and the use of condoms are not forced upon people then circumcision should not be forced on all male newborns.
# 13,666:
3:22 pm PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, California
It's time for genital equality in the United States.
# 13,665:
1:39 pm PST, Nov 20,Heather Burcham, Arkansas
# 13,664:
12:17 pm PST, Nov 20,Susana Lax, Florida
15 square inches of the most sensitive tissue (average adult foreskin) should never be amputated from a non-consenting human.
# 13,663:
9:15 am PST, Nov 20,Kelly Cirone, Missouri
# 13,662:
8:51 am PST, Nov 20,David Le Sauvage, Canada
15 square inches of the most sensitive tissue (average adult foreskin) should never be amputated from a non-consenting human.
# 13,661:
8:48 am PST, Nov 20,Robert Redmon, Ohio
# 13,660:
8:47 am PST, Nov 20,Gaye Gamble, California
# 13,659:
6:26 am PST, Nov 20,Name not displayed, Virginia
It is unethical to perform this on an infant who cannot understand or consent to the procedure.
# 13,658:
4:20 am PST, Nov 20,FreeSpirit Running, Florida
I really don't believe in this. All children should have a right when they get older to make that decision.
# 13,657:
8:57 pm PST, Nov 19,Michael Johnson, Utah
# 13,656:
8:45 pm PST, Nov 19,Garry Macnab, Canada
i was circumcired at birth i did not have any say about 10 years ago i found out about foreskin restoration this is something i should not have to do if it was left up to me moms & dads let your son make up his own discion about circumcision
# 13,655:
8:16 pm PST, Nov 19,Daniel Freese, Minnesota
It is a criminal act to purposely destroy healthy tissue for profit.
# 13,654:
6:54 pm PST, Nov 19,Brande Pickerel, Washington
# 13,653:
1:49 pm PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, Colorado
# 13,652:
11:59 am PST, Nov 19,Cassidy Kirkpatrick, Wisconsin
circumcision is genital mutilation.
# 13,651:
11:44 am PST, Nov 19,Shelly Pinks, Indiana
# 13,650:
9:34 am PST, Nov 19,Deborah Gorman, New York
# 13,649:
9:27 am PST, Nov 19,Robert Sain, Michigan
Since circumcision for boys is not medically indicated, physicians ought to advise parents that the procedure is a cultural (not medical) option. As a physician, the Oath of Hippocrates insists that we ease pain in our patients and not inflict it. As a child psychiatrist, it is harmful to force boys to start life with an unnecessary, painful procedure. For those adolescent boys and young men who later want to separate themselves from their foreskins, they will have that option. Retrieving their foreskins is not available to adolescents and young men who weren't given the option at birth. Thank you for acting with charity and against unnecessary cruelty.
# 13,648:
9:12 am PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, New York
Involuntary genital mutilation of infant boys is a terrible way to stop the spread of ADULT STI's. Furthermore, Circumcision is a violation of a child's right to choose how their body will look/function. No infant is capable of informed consent. Infant Circumcision should be BANNED not promoted by the CDC.
# 13,647:
8:06 am PST, Nov 19,Name not displayed, New York
# 13,646:
8:11 pm PST, Nov 18,Name not displayed, Indiana
# 13,645:
6:00 pm PST, Nov 18,Laurel Marshall, California
Please end this barbaric proceedure now. It has gone on too long and is really only a cosmetic and emotional issue.
# 13,644:
3:22 pm PST, Nov 18,Lisa Donaldson, Utah
# 13,643:
3:09 pm PST, Nov 18,Karisa Cotter, Arkansas
# 13,642:
3:03 pm PST, Nov 18,Susan Rogers, California
# 13,641:
2:21 pm PST, Nov 18,Alesia Febus, New York
No medical society in the world recommends male circumcision - yet newborn circumcision is the most common surgical procedure in the U.S.
# 13,640:
1:01 pm PST, Nov 18,Michelle Boxer, New York
# 13,639:
12:57 pm PST, Nov 18,Marilyn L. Hurrell, Washington
# 13,638:
12:35 pm PST, Nov 18,Nichola Russell, Washington
For all the reason cited in the above e-mail, please do not promote newborn male circumcision. Circumcision is medically unnecessary- even though common in the US. Please don't confuse standard 'cultural' norms with medical necessity. I did not cirumcise my son. I am glad I had the opportunity to make that choice for him and wish that other parents had access to information so that they too could make an informed decision.
# 13,637:
10:11 am PST, Nov 18,Eric Moulder, Florida
There is no need for circumcision. To prevent the spread of HIV and other diseases, PROTECTION is the answer, not the suffering of a males genitals. We are born with a penis in the way we're intended to be. How would females feel if we decided to circumsize them? Yeah, I agree, they would not like it. It does nothing more than cause pain and potential health issues. We need to stop this surgery immediately in our hospitals and to inform parents that the male is intended to remain as he was born!
# 13,636:
10:10 am PST, Nov 18,Kent Berry, Texas
Nature knows how to craft a penis, and doesn't need us making edits to someone else's.
# 13,635:
7:50 am PST, Nov 18,Jana Horner, Colorado
# 13,634:
4:27 am PST, Nov 18,Mike Cohn, Michigan
Take it from a Jewish guy - circumcision doesn't work, you still have to teach your kid how to wash himself.
# 13,633:
10:25 pm PST, Nov 17,Audrey Franklin, Georgia
We can not advocate body part removals for disease prevention. All body parts are in place for a reason of which many are still not completely understood.
# 13,632:
8:04 pm PST, Nov 17,Shane Allen, Canada
This evil must stop!! STOP PLAYING GOD!!
# 13,631:
7:24 pm PST, Nov 17,Name not displayed, New York
# 13,630:
5:23 pm PST, Nov 17,Rachel Karr, Texas
It is wrong to mandate a cosmetic, painful procedure, with still NO PROVEN benefits. There is so much misinformation out there.
# 13,629:
3:22 pm PST, Nov 17,Name not displayed, Georgia
# 13,628:
11:29 am PST, Nov 17,Name not displayed, Massachusetts
Circumcision should not be promoted, it is nothing more than a ritual that is based on misinformation. I find it incredible that the CDC would even consider promoting something so absurd and unnatural, the CDC should be a science based policy maker.
# 13,627:
11:00 am PST, Nov 17,Jahnavi Stenflo, Colorado
# 13,626:
10:50 am PST, Nov 17,Caroline Buchanan, New Mexico
# 13,625:
8:32 am PST, Nov 17,April Johnson, New Jersey
A terrible and cruel thing to do to a new infant.Cosmetic surgery before the baby l;eaves the hospital is a sick thing.
# 13,624:
7:42 am PST, Nov 17,Ellie Shain, California
# 13,623:
6:50 am PST, Nov 17,Bob Stollger, California
would you like your penis mutilated without your permisson, against your will!? quit molesting our boys!
# 13,622:
4:16 am PST, Nov 17,Name not displayed, United Arab Emirates
its cruel
# 13,621:
9:55 pm PST, Nov 16,Christopher Hyde, Michigan
Circumcision of males is an unnecessary procedure and can cause major psychological damage later in life of those circumcised. The benefits of circumcision do not outweigh the horrible consequences of pain and reduced sexual pleasure.
# 13,620:
8:56 pm PST, Nov 16,Karen Corpuz, Hawaii
Teach proper hygiene to prevent urinary tract infections. Promote safe sexual practices to prevent STD.
We don't need mandatory circumcision.
# 13,619:
5:59 pm PST, Nov 16,Laurel Ostrow, Minnesota
I think this is terrible and frightening health policy. Let parents make this decision for their newborn sons. I am a health care provider and the mother of a son.
# 13,618:
5:57 pm PST, Nov 16,Dorothy Townsend-Tyers, Washington
This needs to be a personal decision not one involving government.
# 13,617:
5:33 pm PST, Nov 16,Michael Stiles, Vermont
# 13,616:
5:26 pm PST, Nov 16,Gretchen Lutz, California
# 13,615:
4:56 pm PST, Nov 16,Theresia Cronan, California
# 13,614:
3:45 pm PST, Nov 16,Lisa Gendron, Michigan
It's up the parents and their religion! Not the law!
# 13,613:
1:33 pm PST, Nov 16,Hannah Naylor, Utah
# 13,612:
1:15 pm PST, Nov 16,Marchell Patti, Missouri
You are identifying that the construction of the human body is flawed and must be corrected. Why not routinely remove everyone's appendix - as a preventative to emergency surgeries. Gardisil and other vaccines are now readily available, are you going to make them mandatory in an effort to prevent curvical cancer? We are a country that thrives on our freedom of choice - smoking cessation is not mandatory and should never be. With the freedom of choice comes the freedom to accept the concequences of our actions.
# 13,611:
8:41 am PST, Nov 16,Suzette De Armond, Alaska
# 13,610:
8:14 am PST, Nov 16,Gayle Spitzfaden, Colorado
How can it be better to remove a part of the anatomy that all males are born with, especially in our culture where good hygiene is possible. We need to stop thinking we know better than nature does.
# 13,609:
7:56 am PST, Nov 16,Jason Lewis, Georgia
I have a two year old who is completely healthy and uncircumcised. I feel that to change the law or to make circumcision mandatory is encroaching on our personal and religious freedom and should not be considered.
# 13,608:
7:40 am PST, Nov 16,Joseph Laur, Massachusetts
Except for religious reasons like Jewish and Muslim traditions, babies should not be routinely circumcised. There is no medical reason for this.
# 13,607:
4:01 am PST, Nov 16,Jinie Workman, Nevada
NOW this has gone way beyond UNREASONABLE!!! Why are you trying to RUN our lives with this rediculous crap? Why don't you people let all of us 'other' people make our own responsible decisions for ourselves? Leave us the hell alone!!! It's strictly up to parents as to how to handle the circumcision decision, by their beliefs or whatever else moves them! It's NOT up to you to make our decisions for us. I believe in & had my sons circumcised, but firmly believe that if parents don't want it done because of religion &/or their own personal beliefs, then SO BE IT!!! STOP making our decisions for us, damn it!!!!!!! NOT EVERYONE goes along with what others decide on matters. Back Off!.
# 13,606:
9:56 pm PST, Nov 15,Lisa Barrett, Texas
I wish I had not backed down when others scoffed at me for not wanting my son to be violated like this.
# 13,605:
9:39 pm PST, Nov 15,Nancy Neyhart, Washington
Mutilation of one's own body - unless warranted by a covenant with God - should be one's own decision.
Most circumcised males carry STD's without their knowledge and spread them because the male member sloughs cells.
Safer and wiser, more responsible actions on the part of the individual are what's required to lessen the rise of STD's.
# 13,604:
9:32 pm PST, Nov 15,Cyneva Dalton-Vazquez, North Carolina
There are already laws in America that protect female babies from genital mutilation. It's way past time that we afford the SAME protection to baby boys. There is NO medical evidence to support the routine genital mutilation of newborn babies. If there were, then female babies should be at the top of the list for routine cutting, as their risk of vulvar cancer and other infections are HIGHER than that of male penile cancer and other infections. Additionally, circumcision carries TWICE the risk of complications from the procedure than any potential issue (which is nearly zero) that may arise from remaining intact.
# 13,603:
8:34 pm PST, Nov 15,Cheryl Erickson, Colorado
Circumcision should be a voluntary procedure. If there is to be any legislation on circumcision, it should be that a local anesthitic is mandatory both in medical and ritual procedures.
# 13,602:
8:14 pm PST, Nov 15,Name not displayed, Australia
I would feel it a violation of my human rights if anyone restrained me and took to me with a scalpel or any device used for amputation. And I don't remember the pain from my cesarean recently either, but that doesn't take away my right to human rights and integrity. Don't make excuses for violating our sons.
