San Francisco considers banning infant male circumcision

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: Articles/Crying-Baby-Vaccine.jpg, news, trends

(NaturalNews) A proposed ballot measure could end the practice of infant male circumcision in San Francisco, Calif., as soon as this fall. The measure, which needs 7,000 local signatures to be included on the November ballot, has sparked some controversy among local circumcision advocates. Proponents of the bill, however, say the procedure provides little to no benefit, and actually increases disease risk.

If passed, the bill will make it illegal to "circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the foreskin, testicle or penis of another person who has not attained the age of 18." Violators of the ruling would be fined $1,000 and have to serve a year in prison.

"I always knew this was something wrong to do to a child," said San Francisco resident Lloyd Schofield, creator of the bill. According to a report in the San Francisco Examiner, members of groups pushing for federal legislation to "end male genital mutilation in the U.S." have approached Schofield as an ally in their pursuits.

An NBC Bay Area report says that both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association "do not recommend routine circumcision." And others say the practice is based primarily on tradition and should be stopped because it does not serve a legitimate medical purpose.

According to Doctors Opposing Circumcision (DOC), an organization of physicians and others who oppose non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision, the procedure is highly dangerous to baby boys. Not only does the procedure cause up to 7,000 serious complications for every 100,000 that take place, according to statistics, but it sometimes results in permanent sexual injury and even death.

"Not a single medical society worldwide recommends (circumcision) -- not the AMA, not the AAP, not ACOG, not RACP, not the BMA, not ACS," says DOC literature. "There is no valid diagnosis, no conservative treatment plan, no histology, no pathology, and no urgent need for amputation of healthy, nerve-dense tissue."

Sources for this story include:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/politics/1166...

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/02/san-...