Circumcision a topic for discussion in Uk news

[needinfo]

I'm a bit of a silent member being cut and in the Uk. Just came accross this story today though and thought I'd share. Spouts out all kinds of facts and figures!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19072761

Enjoy!

[Element786]

Very cool! The quicker this is outlawed in European countries and the UK, the better. It's remarkable how much it's been in the news lately, at least over on your side of the Atlantic.

[mark85]

A great overview of the situation for people not in the know.

[Alex]

"You are doing a procedure on someone who cannot make a decision for himself - it's a difficult choice for both parents and physicians," says Dr Marvin Wang, co-director of the Newborn Nurseries at Massachusetts General Hospital, who has conducted hundreds of circumcisions."

Oh the hilarity. A guy named Wang is cutting penises for a living.

[freddys]

The article is well balanced, as would be expected from English news reports on this subject. However, the fact that American doctors who might oppose circumcision fear loss of referrals or being labelled anti-semitic does not give much hope for a rapid change in the U.S. Neither does the AAP emphasis on parental rights and the quick brush-off of risks (no mention of deaths caused by circumcision).

[AntonioBCN]

I know, I read that article and got so ANGRY at that stupid doctor on the video. He kept using his keyword 'gently' ('the baby is gently restrained') and used a silly plastic doll (why not show a REAL video, and warn viewers beforehand though) to 'demonstrate' the procedure. He said 'we free the foreskin first' which makes it sound like they're doing a good thing (freedom=liberty connection) rather than explaining that they tear or rip the foreskin off, interrupting a natural process that would happen in the preteen years. I wanted to tar and feather him!!!

[Dr. Cool]

Originally Posted by AntonioBCN

I know, I read that article and got so ANGRY at that stupid doctor on the video. He kept using his keyword 'gentyl' ('the baby is gently restrained') and used a silly plastic doll (why not show a REAL video, and warn viewers beforehand though) to 'demonstrate' the procedure. He said 'we free the foreskin first' which makes it sound like they're doing a good thing (freedom=liberty connection) rather than explaining that they tear or rip the foreskin off, interrupting a natural process that would happen in the preteen years. I wanted to tar and feather him!!!

It's a quite sexually perverted act if you stop to think about it. Think about the same scene, but instead of the foreskin he is chopping off the ears of the poor child. And then there would be people trying to justify it as a traditional religious right or as hygienic or beautiful ("it makes us look less bestial"). No need to say that nothing can be more degrading than to chop off parts of the genitalia of a living being.