WHAT DOES CIRCUMCISION MEAN TO CHRISTIANS?

What does this circumcision mean for Christian parents?

For Christian parents, therefore, circumcision of newborn boys is not a religious issue. It is strictly a medical issue.

As such, it is a procedure which should not be routinely performed without very sound evidence of benefits.

Any medical procedure performed on your child should be fully evaluated in light of your Christian obligation to love, protect, and nurture him.

You need to be well informed.

As Christian parents you need to be aware that no medical group in the world associated with child health supports the routine circumcision of male infants.

In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics made this quite clear, stressing that they do not recommend the routine circumcision of male infants.

They stated: "The purported medical benefits are not significant or compelling enough to make such a recommendation."

In the same year, the American Medical Association joined other medical organizations in not recommending circumcision as a routine procedure, noting that the persistently high percentage of non-ritual circumcisions "occurs in large measure because parental decision-making is based on social or cultural expectations, rather than medical concerns."

You should not agree to circumcision of your newborn son unless and until you fully understand:

(1) the nature of the operation;

(2) the purpose or rationale of the operation;

(3) the risks to your son, not only the common risks but ALL of them (ask your doctor about this);

(4) proof of benefits weighed against potential for physical, psychological, and sexual damage resulting from this unnecessary elective surgery.

The Social/Cultural Dimension:


Simply put, any practice that has been sanctioned for many years will eventually take on a social and cultural scope and rationale.

Now that it has been clearly shown that routine circumcision is not a sound rational medical practice, we have those who would perpetuate the practice based on social and cultural arguments.

Such arguments are numerous. Among them are: he should look like his father, his brother, or the neighbor boy; the desire to conform to social/cultural peer pressure; to perpetuate the "look" of a circumcised penis, arguing that it is more aesthetically pleasing; we just do it because it is the "American Way."

Here we are outside the realm of sound medical considerations.

These are not valid rational reasons to circumcise your newborn son.

Rarely if ever, would there be a valid medical indication to perform a newborn circumcision.

Thus, routine infant circumcision is "cosmetic surgery" in its truest sense. Conformity is not a Christian value.

Christian parents, and especially those parents dedicated to natural birth, home birth, and a holistic approach to health and childcare, should have serious questions about any health care professional who would suggest routine infant circumcision.

The United States is the only country in the world that has practiced the routine circumcision of a large percentage of its male infants.

No other developed country in the world routinely circumcises infants for non-religious reasons.

Given the now-confirmed lack of medical benefit and well-documented evidence of potential damage, one has to wonder why hospitals in the United States continue to provide facilities for routine infant circumcision, and solicit circumcision by presenting non-requested circumcision consent forms to every parent of a newborn male.

Why do doctors - while agreeing to the lack of medical validity of infant circumcision - continue to circumcise newborns?

If you were to suggest similar routine cosmetic genital surgery for a female child, you and the doctor who would consent to perform it would be in violation of state and federal statutes.


Why, then, is this routine cosmetic surgery even possible with regard to a male child?
 
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http://www.coloradonocirc.org/files/handouts/Christian_Parents_and_the_Circumcision_Issue.pdf 

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