Circumcision

Circumcision: a surgical removal of the foreskin (prepuce) on a human's penis.

I chose to circumcise my first son based on what I thought was a traditional medical practice. Considered common sense for a parent to have their son circumcised, I didn't question the procedure and had my first son circumcised based on the 'look like daddy' belief.

As I entered the world of parenting, I began to realize circumcision isn't as widely a practice as I thought. I also became aware that many cultures do not circumcision their baby boys. Thus, when it came time to deliver my second son, I knew I had to research the procedure myself.

I researched three areas: Biblical background, American history, and the medical benefits. Here are very brief facts that stood out to me.

Biblical Background:

The Hebrew words used for circumcision are 'naval' (to clip) and 'muwl' (to blunt). The Hebrews were to make a small clip of the overhanging foreskin. They were not to remove the whole foreskin as we do today. If they did, the child would have more than likely bled to death.

Around 140 AD, Rabbis introduced the practice of removing the whole foreskin. Jews were trying to disguise their circumcision as it was causing them to be unable to participate in social events.

American History:

John H. Kellogg

Circumcision was not a medical tradition in American society until about the 1900's. The medical practice was introduced in the late 1800's as a way to discourage masturbation.

"In cases of masturbation we must, I believe, break the habit by inducing such a condition of the parts as will cause too much local suffering to allow of the practice being continued. For this purpose, if the prepuce is long, we may circumcise the male patient with present and probably with future advantage; the operation, too, should not be performed under chloroform, so that the pain experienced may be associated with the habit we wish to eradicate."
-Athol A. W. Johnson, On An Injurious Habit Occasionally Met with in Infancy and Early Childhood, The Lancet, vol. 1 (7 April 1860): pp. 344-345.

"A remedy [for masturbation] which is almost always successful in small boys is circumcision. The
operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering an anesthetic, as the pain attending the operation will have a salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected with the idea of punishment."
-John Harvey Kellogg [creator of the corn flake], Treatment for Self-Abuse and Its Effects, Plain Facts for Old and Young, Burlington, Iowa: P. Segner & Co. 1888, p. 295.

When Mr. Johnson quoted circumcision be used to curtail masturbation only .001% of Americans were circumcised. In 1888, when Mr. Kellogg was quoted, 15% of American males were circumcised. By the 1930's over half of the American male population had undergone this medical procedure.

Medical Benefits:
The original medical benefits of circumcision are far fetched.

"Local indications for circumcision: Hygienic, phimosis, paraphimosis, redundancy (where the prepuce more than covers the glans), adhesions, papillomata, eczema (acute and chronic), oedema, chancre, chancroid, cicatrices, inflammatory thickening, elephantiasis, naevus, epithelioma, gangrene, tuberculosis, preputial calculi, hip-joint disease, hernia. Systemic indications: Onanism [masturbation], seminal emissions, enuresis, dysuria, retention, general nervousness, impotence, convulsions, hystero-epilepsy." Editor, Medical Record, Circumscisus, Medical Record, vol. 49 (1896): p. 430.

"The prepuce is an important factor in the production of phthisis [tuberculosis]. This can be proven by the immunity of the Jewish race from tubercular affections." S. G. A. Brown, A Plea for Circumcision, Medical World, vol. 15 (1897): pp. 124-125.

The Center for Disease Control uses the word 'may' before several benefits to circumcision.

It is challenging for me to believe that the foreskin needs to be removed due to health benefits. God designed the body in a 'fearfully and wonderfully' way.

I wanted to write this post to briefly educate about circumcision. I feel that many Americans don't really know the facts about circumcision or why it is practiced in our society. I didn't. Maybe this will be a springboard to do your own research.

A few links I found helpful about circumcision:
http://www.drmomma.org
http://www.cirp.org/library/history/peron2/