Protect our boys!

Next November the people of San Francisco may be voting on a ban on routine infant circumcision.  I am all for a ban!  Based on the amount of news coverage of this proposed measure however, it appears that many are reeling in fury. 

Parents fear the government taking away too many of their rights. They believe that being able to circumcise their baby boys is an inherent right and choice that they are allowed to make and some have even suggested that such a law would lead to communism.

Is it communist to protect the most vulnerable and smallest citizens of our country?  Is it not the government’s duty to protect our children from harm?  Some are glad that the government has in its power to remove children from abusive situations but in the same breath try to defend their ‘right’ to remove healthy, fully-functioning organs from baby boys. It seems to me that government measures are only supported when they fall within an individual’s own ideology.  If it suits a person then it must be good.  If the government can take action against something that someone wants to do then it is the government over stepping its boundaries.

Baby girls are already protected in our country against genital mutilation.  Yes- it is mutilation.  It is strapping down a non-consenting human being and cutting off healthy working parts of his or her body. People become aghast at the concept of cutting a girl’s genitals and yet vehemently argue that they should be able to cut off parts of their baby boys’ penises. Why the double standard?  If girls are protected legally against circumcision so should boys be as well.

Others are concerned about the religious aspect of male infant circumcision.  They feel the government has no right to prevent parents from removing the foreskins of their baby boys.  Female genital mutilation is often practiced as a religious right and yet it is completely illegal in the US.  It should be no different for boys.

This is not about medically necessary procedures.  If there is a genuine NEED for circumcision then this rare need should and will be allowed.  A parent has a responsibility to maintain the health and well-being of his or her children.  But routine infant circumcision doesn’t benefit the child.  It does not improve hygiene.  It does not prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease.  Penile cancer is a disease of old men and is extremely rare. Circumcision carries a host of risks including pain, scarring, infections, dismemberment and death.

It boils down to the fact that each and every human being on this planet owns the basic right to bodily integrity.  No one has the right to remove healthy body parts from a person who cannot consent to this procedure.  Cosmetic surgery is an option left for adults who can make that choice.  Circumcision is a harmful, dangerous procedure that forever damages a male’s body and absolutely no parent has a right to have this procedure performed upon a minor when his body is healthy and perfectly functioning. Amputation of a healthy organ should never be someone’s choice to inflict against someone else’s will.