To chop or not to chop?

[Lemur]

The scientific take on the debate. Needless to say, there's more than one view:

Does circumcision harm your sex life? This question has become more pressing than ever with the recent endorsement by the World Health Organization of circumcision as a means of reducing HIV infection in Africa (New Scientist, 31 March, p 7). But as two new studies show, it's proving tricky to resolve.

Kimberley Payne of the Riverside Professional Centre in Ottawa, Canada, and her colleagues tested the sensitivity of 20 intact and 20 circumcised men's penises as they watched erotic movie clips, by touching the penises with filaments that press down with predetermined amounts of pressure (The Journal of Sexual Medicine, DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00471.x). They found no difference in penile sensation between circumcised and uncircumcised men.

However, when Robert Van Howe of Michigan State University used a similar method to measure sensitivity at 19 points along the penises of 163 men, he found that the five most sensitive points were all in portions of the penis removed by circumcision, especially those in folds exposed as the penis becomes erect (BJU International, vol 99, p 864).

Van Howe says Payne's team might have had similar results if they had tested more men and made measurements at more than two points. He denied that funding by the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers, which opposes circumcision, influenced the result. "It would be hard to fake," he says. He hopes other groups will try to replicate the findings.

[Vladimir]

Um, wow. Thank you for that...yea...

[Lemur]

A dad is suing to force his 12-year-old to become circumcised. The mom, needless to say, is fighting it. Not clear on how the boy feels. Kind of a weird situation, and I feel for the kid.

Other family law experts agree, but say the courts should at least look into the situation to make sure the surgery is in the best interests of the child.

"You're talking about not just religious instruction or whether you're going to send the child to parochial school or public school," commented Lawrence D. Gorin, a Portland attorney. "This is a matter of permanent change of bodily structure. And it's irreversible."

The mother is running out of legal options.

The Oregon Supreme Court has been briefed, but has not decided whether to take the case.

Mark Johnson, a Portland lawyer commenting on the case, said the court shouldn't let the case be decided based only on the legal papers filed on behalf of the mother and father.

"Frankly, the child should have a lawyer," Johnson said.

[TB666]

I side with the mother in this case.
In 6 years this kid can make this decision himself and I think the court should let him make that choice himself.
And just in case, put a restraining order against sharp objects close to his penis.

[Vladimir]

Wow, really. If it hasn't been done by 12 then why force it? Why doesn't the father also try to impose a court order for him to eat his veggies?

[Sasaki Kojiro]

He says the boy wants to
She says he doesn't

Who to believe? If the kid doesn't want to he should own up and say so.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Hm...I wonder how many 12 years old boys of free will want to have the tip of their penis cut off before they get 18 years old? Circumcision is a sado-masochistic-religious ritual comparable to the Ubangi plates in the lips, female circumcision in East Africa and Burmese women putting rings to lengthen their necks, and some Ethiopian people where whipping 12-15 years old girls has some fertility ritual function. Based on human biological rights reasoning none of these things belong in the 21st century, but based on culture tolerance ideals they should all be allowed. Difficult question, but as long as nobody forces someone else to do any of these things it should probably be allowed. The problem with all these rites is that in the cultures they occur they are usually believed to be necessary to do while the victim is still a young child, and they oppose leaving the decision until 18 years age or similar.