Circumcision should be banned.

Any cutting bits off your child and/or making holes in them should be illegal unless a Medical professional has deemed it necessary for medical reasons

What I would say to that is in a country like Uganda/Nigeria, were the healthcare isn't good and expensive, you can see why it's best to do it as a newborn. Circumcision at a later age would be life threatening because of infection. Having a foreskin could be life threatening if it gets infected, STIs such as herpes is of less of a risk.
If it is banned this will be driven underground, then we have to decide punishment. Now do we remove children because of this, all (even the emotionally bonded older daughter) some (just boys)? Put people in prison? We'd have to have clear strategies.

I’m Jewish and I feel very strongly that this practice needs to stop. How you stop it though I don’t know. How the sign of being a Jewish male relies on having a part of the body removed, I find ridiculous. A lot of religious rules and laws are hard for me to make any sense of, but they don’t cause physically damage . If you want to avoid eating dairy after meat, fair enough, Not drive a car or carry a bag on Shabbat, crack on. But cutting parts of the bodies of babies who have no voice or choice and which may leave them with lifelong problems - time it stopped.

The above was not antisemitic either, I find the influencing factors contributing to American culture fascinating!

Its not rare for FGM though, is it? Its rather part of the point of mutilating girls. For male circumcision its a bug, for FGM its a feature.

Not justifying male circumcision, just pointing out that there are significant differences in purpose and scale.

At an educated guess, I’d say American medics are more inclined to perform unnecessary procedures/tests to milk insurance companies, including circumcision. Loads of people here genuinely believe they’re doing it for the right reasons (cleanliness, protection from infection or injury). I’d imagine though that if the risks really were that high then it would be offered by national health services in the UK and elsewhere.

An example of cultural relativism is acknowledging that the animals different cultures choose to consume is often arbitrary.

Avoiding cutting a child’s genitals without medical need is a moral absolute.

I don't think any procedures should be carried out on a child without medical necessity. From as mild as ear piercing to as severe as genital surgery. If there is no medical need for the procedure, it should not happen. Children should not suffer unnecessarily.

It’s mutilating a baby boys body before they are old enough to consent. Unless there is a good medical reason it should be banned.

Because there is a significant difference between removing a foreskin from a penis and scraping a girls clitoris away and sewing her labia together so tightly she cannot part with menstrual fluid or enjoy sexual pleasure

How strange. It’s natural to have a foreskin. Imagine having your clitoral hood removed!!!

Yes, the culture of circumcision in America is changing. It used to be the norm, regardless of religious affiliation because it was seen as "healthier". As evidence against that grows so do the number of pediatricians who recommend it and it's use is definitely declining.

Why are th US into this ?

It’s not 99 percent here in the States at all - over half of newborns are circumcised and around 80 percent of older males (14 plus). It varies by ethnicity too. But yes, it’s far higher than the UK.

Agree wholeheartedly with this. It should never be done for any reason other than medical.

I think circumcisions (and most surgical body modification) on minors should be banned for any reason other than medical necessity.

What consenting adult men do with their genitals is non of my business.

Most of my male Muslim friends wish they were in tact and my Muslim GP is also against it.

I don't like lumping FGM with male circumcision as they are completely different in terms of the degree of injury and damage and harm, with FGM very manifestly being off the scale on this compared to male circumcision. The reasons are also completely incomparable, with FGM being done for cultural reasons to limit or prevent a woman's capacity to enjoy sex so that she remains faithful, or/and to be able to be sure she retains her virginity until marriage ( with her husband having to literally tear her open with his penis or even a knife to be able to enter her). Male circumcision is not done for these reasons.

I think they should be two separate campaigns.

Any cutting of children without medical reason should be outlawed.