Circumcision - become an intactivist
Why do they do it? Because in Chapter 17 of Genesis, God is reported to have ordered Abraham, then 99 years old, to circumcise himself and all the males of his tribe and their slaves as a sign of alliance between God and the descendants of Abraham.
Obviously God didn't make such a perfect creation when he made man!
Also begs the question that if we are made in His image, is He intact or not?
Circumcision is an initiation rite for Jewish newborn babies. It is also practised by Muslims who see it as a sign of purification and perform the rite within the early years of a child's life.
Followers of Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism are against the ritual being carried out for religious reasons.
About one in six men worldwide are circumcised and it is estimated that 15 million post-infancy operations are performed each year, making circumcision the most commonly practised medical procedure in the world.
Amongst Jews and Muslims where circumcision is mandatory or desirable, numbers are higher. Each year approximately 100,000 Jews are circumcised and 10 million Muslims.
Rates of circumcision vary between countries. In parts of Africa where circumcision is a tribal custom, the number is around nine million.
In Britain, the rest of Europe, Central and South America and Asia, the rate is as low as one per cent. (from BBC Ethics)
Finnish Court Finds Religious Male Circumcision Illegal
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
In Finland, according to yesterday's Helsingen Sanomat, a trial court judge has found a Muslim mother guilty of assault for having her four-year-old son circumcised. The case was brought after the boy's father complained that he had not been consulted. The court held that the procedure, even though performed by a physician, amounted to an assault and that not even a long religious tradition justifies not protecting the bodily inviolability of the boy. The same principle that outlaws female circumcision was seen by the court as applying to males as well. The trial court imposed no punishment on the mother as the case moves to the Court of Appeals.
Infant circumcision may be illegal (in Tasmania, Australia)
ONCE routine, now often thought unkind, the cut may also be illegal. Parental consent might not be enough to protect the circumcisers of baby boys from later legal action.
In a rare legal analysis of the medical procedure, the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute found that criminal and civil law lacked certainty, and that circumcision might abuse the rights of a child.
Does Circumcision Remove The Most Sensitive Parts Of The Penis?
- Science Daily
This study suggests that the transitional region from the external to the internal prepuce is the most sensitive region of the uncircumcised penis and more sensitive than the most sensitive region of the circumcised penis. It appears that circumcision ablates the most sensitive parts of the penis.