Lawmakers in Massachusetts are attacking the practice by Jews and other groups of circumcision with a bill to label the process genital mutilation and outlaw it.

The proposal would make Massachusetts the first U.S. state to take such action.

The bill calls for outlawing circumcision of males of any age except in cases of medical necessity and also outlaws all forms of circumcision or alteration of the genitals in females.

The bill's provisions seem to make an exception for an adult male who willingly requests the procedure.

The most controversial part of the bill appears to be the provision to outlaw circumcision in infant boys.

Temple Ner Tamid Rabbi David Klatzker told WND very few nations have outlawed circumcision.

"For the most part it's legal everywhere. Certainly we're against the bill. Circumcision is a very important part of our religious ritual, and to be for the bill is to be anti-Semitic," Rabbi Klatzker said.

But bill supporter attorney Georgeann Chapin, executive director of Intact America, discounts the religious argument, saying that most circumcisions are performed for medical reasons.

"Circumcision in the United States is primarily a medical practice. Less than 2 percent of the population performs circumcisions for religious reasons. There are over a million circumcisions done in America ... and all but a handful of them are done for medical reasons," Chapin said.

"Our position is that it is a medically unethical procedure, removes healthy, functional tissue from an un-consenting baby. It's terribly painful and it deprives the child for the rest of his life of healthy, normal erogenous tissue," Chapin said.

Listen to an interview with Georganne Chapin:

Chapin said there already is a federal law outlawing female circumcision, and she believes boys should have the same protection. She also doesn't believe there should be any exceptions for religious belief.

"All babies should be protected and we believe that people's faith is in their heart. There are many Jews who are devout with their religion, but there are lots of religious practices that people leave as they become more aware really of the reason for it," Chapin said.

"Human sacrifice is in the Bible, and we don't do that. Many people practice religion and their customs selectively," she said.

"Religious practices change over time, so Intact America is primarily focused on medical circumcision but no, we don't believe there should be an exception for religious circumcision," Chapin said.

Laurie Evans is the director of the New York Hudson Valley Chapter of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers. She said that as a Jewish woman, it was difficult to stand up to her family.

"Once I witnessed a bris (ritual Jewish circumcision), understood the function of the foreskin and the long, lasting harm of circumcision, I had to follow my conscience and leave my son intact," Evans testified.

"My son is now 20, is grateful, as he understands just what he was spared," Evans said. "When I realized how many parents were uninformed about this surgery, I founded and becamedirector of the New York Hudson Valley Chapter of NOCIRC."

Evans said that she tries to inform parents about circumcision.

"I ask parents what information they were given before being asked to sign a consent form. Usually they were not told about the function of the foreskin. Mothers confide in me that their son's circumcision was heart-wrenching nightmare that still haunts them," Evans said.

"If they had known what was truly involved, they would have never granted their permission," Evans said.

Ronald Goldman, a writer and researcher and the executive director of the Jewish Circumcision Research Center in Boston, believes that the practice is harmful.

Goldman said people often don't consider the baby's position.

"I can guarantee you that the baby doesn't care what the parents think. How would you respond if people strapped you down and forcibly removed part of your genitals?" said Goldman, author of "Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma" and "Questioning Circumcision: A Jewish Perspective."

Writing on his website, Jewish Circumcision Resource Center, Goldman believes circumcision is a choice and, "Like the American cultural practice of circumcision, Jewish circumcision (bris or brit milah) is dependent on the acceptance of cultural myths."

However, Goldman made clear that his appearance before the joint Judiciary Committee was not necessarily to support the bill. He said his purpose was to inform people about the full range of the issue.

Massachusetts Rabbinical Council Rabbi Abraham Halbsinger disagrees with Goldman's position that belief in circumcision is because of a belief in a myth. Rabbi Halbsinger says circumcision is deeply rooted.

"I would like the bill to be pigeonholed in committee somewhere because the bill would impact a number of people, not just Jewish people. Many religions believe that circumcision is a religious requirement," Halbsinger said.

"For us it is a biblical requirement, and circumcision is a biblical commandment, and those who follow it believe the Bible and have a right to do so," he said.

Halbsinger said that there are other reasons the bill should be defeated.

"No baby is irrevocably harmed by circumcision. Not only that there are a number of infections and even cancers that are prevented by the practice of circumcision," he said.

Listen to an interview with Rabbi Halbsinger:

Proponents of the bill filed written testimony with the Massachusetts House and Senate Judiciary Committees listing medical benefits of not being circumcised.

The document said the tissue provides protection for the male genitalia as well as defense against certain infections. The document also claims that the tissue serves a useful function during sexual intercourse.

However, not all doctors agree with the claims.

Japan is one of the many countries in the world that does not practice medical circumcision for boys at birth. However, a Japanese physician who asked not to be identified said the claims in the written testimony are mistaken.

The Japanese doctor said when he studied the issue, he discovered that the tissue is responsible for an increase in cervical cancer in women and is a hiding place for a host of disease-causing bacteria.

His individual study on the issue was the factor that convinced him to be circumcised as an adult.

Dr. Christopher Lodowsky, a urologist working in Salem, Mass., also disputes the written testimony's claims.

"The American Urological Society has neither condemned nor supported circumcisions. They've always said to educate the patients on the issue, especially in the area of child circumcisions, about the risks and benefits," he said.

"The medical authorities have said to leave it to the parents to decide ultimately what's best for their children. In my practice we have an in-depth conversation with the parents and discuss the issue with them about the risks and benefits and ultimately we let the parents decide," Lodowsky said.

Listen to an interview with Dr. Lodowsky:

Lodowsky said the conversation is different with older kids and adults. He said with older children, the decision is for medical reasons.

"Sometimes kids can have real problems; they can have infections and inflammation and that can really be problematic. You have a different conversation with them," Lodowsky said.

"With the older children and adults, you let them know that it may be possible to treat the infection with medication, but always let them know that a circumcision may become necessary," he continued.

Lodowsky said that until recently the data was neutral.

"There's been some data that has come out of international literature, especially from Africa. That data for the first time shows a real benefit in having a circumcision. Specifically the studies deal the rate of HIV infections. Every study has its own flaws, but what I've seen generally speaking is that the data is pretty strong and there's some consideration about changing the recommendations on circumcisions stating that there is some data that suggest a long-term benefit," Lodowsky said.

March 5, 2010

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