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Santa Monica Latest City to Fight to Get Circumcision Ban on Ballot
Filed under: In The News
Credit: Francisco Seco, AP
The New York Times reports "intactivists" are fighting for a similar ballot issue in Santa Monica, arguing that the procedure is "male genital mutilation."
"This is the furthest we've gotten, and it is a huge step for us," Matthew Hess, who wrote both bills, tells the newspaper, adding that folks in other cities have been calling for help, as well. "This is a conversation we are long overdue to have in this country. The end goal for us is making cutting boys' foreskin a federal crime."
The ballot measures are of concern to Jewish groups, according to The Times, as circumcision is a requirement of Jewish law.
"People are shocked that it has reached this level because there has never been this kind of a direct assault on a Jewish practice here," Marc Stern, associate general counsel for the American Jewish Committee, tells the newspaper. "This is something that American Jews have always taken for granted -- that something that was so contested elsewhere but here, we're safe and we're secure."
Jena Troutman, however, a mom of two boys who is promoting the Santa Monica measure and runs the website wholebabyrevolution.com, tells The Times it's not about religion.
"I am just a mom trying to save the little babies," she tells the newspaper. "I'd rather be on the beach, but nobody is talking about this, so I have to."
Circumcision procedures have been dropping in the United States, The Times reports, with 30 to 50 percent of infant males getting snipped.
Family physician Dr. David Baron tells the newspaper trying to ban circumcision is "ridiculous and dishonest."
"To say it is mutilation is wrong from the get-go," Baron tells The Times. "It is a perfectly valid decision to say that it is not what you want for your child. Any doctor who says it is needed is not being honest, but to say that it needs to be banned is shocking."
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 18)
6-06-2011 @ 3:12PM
wrxfrk16 said...Please don't breed. Honestly, an animal penis? We are animals, just the smartest and most self-aware. That mentality is exactly why this kind of bill is on the table.
6-06-2011 @ 3:45PM
msirgo said...peenee? really?
6-06-2011 @ 2:41PM
Frank said...I had a friend who was NOT circumsized at birth. At the age of 21 he decided to do it. He wished he had had it at birth. A male penis much more attractive circumsized, not to mention it is astethically pleasing to the female, much more than a smelly un-circumsized member. Just saying.
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6-06-2011 @ 2:42PM
barbara said...Why is it people are always trying to pass laws to take another freedom away when the subject of the law doesn't even relate to them? I get very tired of having a small group of people intent on trying to pass laws like this that don't affect them they just don't want somebody else to do it. Frankly, it's a choice of a parent or an adult and also a health issue. These people need something to do, they have to much free time! What will they think of next?
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6-06-2011 @ 2:44PM
chris robertson said...It amazes me that with all the problems the people of California are facing that this is the topic getting the most publicity. It makes me happy I don't live there.
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6-06-2011 @ 3:37PM
cleo said...That's California for ya!
They love to have the government think for them so they can concentrate on more pressing issues about where to have lunch, deciding on which is the perfect hair style etc.
6-06-2011 @ 2:49PM
Miss Rae said...I've seen the videos these idiots put out. If I hadn't witnessed circumcision with my own eyes, I'd be horrified, too. The actual procedure, when performed in religious ceremony or in a pediatrician's office is nothing like what is seen in the videos. I have two sons. I was beside them when they had it done. My oldest was done by a pediatrician and my youngest had a religious ceremony. They cried more when they had to have shots and blood tests. The procedure took mere moments and the crying stopped in less than a minute. If I had watched something like what they did on the video, I would have never done it to a second son. Not in a million years.
Not to mention, they're using the term "genital mutilation," which refers to the practice of some cultures that mutilate women's genitals so that they cannot experience sexual pleasure. Men who are circumcised still experience sexual pleasure. Just ask them.
This is an all-out attack on religious freedom and the freedom of choice. I would have had it done no matter what my religious beliefs, and I'd like to see someone try to stop me!
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6-06-2011 @ 2:46PM
L.Borja said...I'm not Jewish. I had 2 sons back in the 60's.I didn't have them circumcised. The doctors and nurses were horrified. But for some one to decide they know what's best for other peoples children and want to pass a law is big brother going wild. This is a bad use of the law. In Oregon we are trying to balance religious rights of parents with the right of children not to suffer physcially and even die because of the parents beliefs. So far we have been in favor of the rights of the children. Laws should be used carefully.
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6-06-2011 @ 2:47PM
DELERIUM23 said...Circumcision is a medical procedure. When my son was born, I turned to the men in our family.
My father was born over seas and not circumcised. As a preschooler, he had multiple UTIs and his pediatrician suggested that the circumcision would help prevent the infections. My dad remembers having it done and was insistant that we do it while my son was a baby.
I think it is rediculous that random men think that they should be able to make decisions about other people's children.
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6-06-2011 @ 3:32PM
Conering circumcism said...What is ridiculous is that parents think they have the right to make "that" decison for their child, a permanent physical change.
Let the child grow up and make that decision, not his parent.
6-06-2011 @ 2:46PM
J.C. said...As usual the liberals are certain they know what's best for us, whether we like it or not. Land of the free!
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6-06-2011 @ 2:48PM
David said...Why is it always women pushing not to circumcize? A circumcision done later in life is extremely painful. Try getting that extra skin caught in your zipper.
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6-06-2011 @ 2:53PM
kristen said...my husband who is a urologist will tell you that the incidence of cervical cancer is far less in women whose husbands or male partners are circumcised. Cancer of the penis is also lower in men who have been circumcised. How about a law banning clamps on umbilical cords.
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6-06-2011 @ 2:53PM
sailor said...This practice has been pushed on all American boys for religious reasons(only Muslims and Jews require). We are so worried about unborn babies, then we mutilate them after they are born. Do we next allow female circumcision if some religous cult requires that practice for girls. I hate government intervention, but when hospitals just cut a boys penis off without explaining to the parent that there is no need for it, there is something very wrong.
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6-06-2011 @ 4:18PM
wayne said...sailor, you talk like a fool. Go clean the smegma off your ugly, maloderous uncircumsized penis.Just ask women what they prefer, circumsision wins every time,
8-03-2011 @ 3:21PM
vocald229 said...I am circumsized and pretty sure they didn't cut my penis off. I am neither Jewish or Muslim OR religious in any way for that matter. I am very thankful my parents had me circumsized when I was a baby. It is NOT genital mutilation and you should worry about your penis and maybe your boyfriends, but leave everybody else's penis alone.
6-06-2011 @ 4:58PM
Patty said...sailor,
They do not cut the penis off. Ignorant. An Uncircumcised penis s a health risk to a female sexual partner. It contributes to some forms of cervical cancer. Perhaps by harboring the HPV virus within the un-cut folds of skin on the penis, thereby transferring to female sexual partner/ or partners. If you are not immaculate about your personal hygeine, it becomes an issue. A stinky issue.
gross.
6-06-2011 @ 2:54PM
Chris said...Oh my GAWD!
When will people STOP trying to legislate things that are so very personal? I am tired of women(or men) like this with NOTHING else to worry about---deciding what is or is not appropriate! Get a life of your own and STAY OUT OF MINE!
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6-06-2011 @ 3:16PM
wrxfrk16 said...That's just it. No one would approve of parents tattooing an infant or giving their infant a serious body piercing for aesthetic purposes, but the choice of whether or not to be circumcised is made by someone other than the owner of said penis everyday.
It's a matter of personal rights and choice, it isn't legislating that you have to do something to yourself or have to act a certain way, it's guaranteeing the rights of future citizens to self-determination, at least in regards to circumcision.
6-06-2011 @ 2:59PM
Sydnee said...How absurd! No one is forcing parents to have their baby boys circumsized. If the parents want to let that choice be left upto their son, so be it. Unfortunately, it is the adult male that suffers because it is much more painful to have done as an adult. Ask uncircumsized males who are adults and have not been circumsized and you will find out that having sexual intercourse can be more painful more often than not. From a woman's point of view, it requires more careful cleansing, sometime odorous, and takes plenty away from spontaneity to keep pulling that excess piece of skin back before any penetration into the vagina and/or takes away from effective oral foreplay by a woman for assistiing an errection and good feelings of sensuality for the man. This is a family matter and does not take a legal ban to take away from making your own choice. Why burden us further with laws that are unnecessarily controling and remove choice from the equation and perhaps add health consideration plus to the beautiful act of making love.
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