Michelle Teheux: Proposed circumcision ban brings discussion

We don’t let parents decide to give their infants tattoos or similar body modifications. We quite rightly say these sorts of decisions should only be made by the individual upon adulthood...

Michelle Teheux photo courtesy: Pekin Daily Times

(HAWLEY, Pa.) - The proposed circumcision ban in San Francisco has at least accomplished one thing: It has brought attention to an issue that is seldom talked about outside childbirth and parenting circles.

We got a letter to the editor from a reader upset about the proposed ban. People are talking about it, and that’s a good thing.

There are several questions to talk about. First, do parents have a right to make the decision to remove a healthy, functioning body part from their infant? If so, why is it OK to operate on the healthy genitals of a male but not a female? What about Jews and others who believe they must circumcise for religious reasons? And how did circumcision for anything but religious reasons ever become the norm?

Whole books have been written on this subject, and I’ve read many of them over the last two decades that I’ve been a mother.

If I had a dime for every mother who has told me she bitterly regrets circumcising her son after learning more about it, well, I wouldn’t be retired, but I’d at least be able to buy a nice dinner.

There’s simply no reason other than, perhaps, heartfelt religious belief to even consider putting a tender newborn through a painful and unnecessary procedure that will have profound effects on his future sex life.

We don’t let parents decide to give their infants tattoos or similar body modifications. We quite rightly say these sorts of decisions should only be made by the individual upon adulthood.

We should let males decide whether they wish to have their foreskins removed once they’re grown up. My guess is very few would make the choice to have the most sexually sensitive part of their body removed, but it would be their choice to make.

Editor Michelle Teheux may be reached at mteheux@pekintimes.com.

Republished with permission, special thanks to: The News Eagle