by Viv Corridor

Created on: August 12, 2008

Circumcision has been around for millenia and millions of baby boys have gone through the procedure in that time. The practice, like many ancient religious rituals, evolved at a time when there were valid social and health issues that could be addressed by removing a male infant's foreskin. Simply put, ancient people did not have the access to health knowledge, health care and soap and water that modern people have. In an environment where proper hygenic practices were not only impossible, but unknown, having a foreskin could lead to serious health problems, including recurring infections.

Fast forward to 2008. We are now no longer an unenlightened, hygenically challenged species. We are now aware that with proper cleaning, the foreskin poses no health threat to the majority of males. We are now aware the removal of the foreskin can cause an infant significant pain and suffering, both during and after the procedure.

As a mother who chose not to circumcise her son, it's difficult for me to imagine any reason that really justifies the practice - other than religious inertia. It is, however, easy for me to list and debunk some of the worst arguments I've heard in favor of circumcision:

Justification - My religion requires it.

Reason - At one time, nearly every major religion of the world has "required" its adherents to do something that is now viewed as either unnecessary by modern science or unacceptable by modern social conscience. The Catholic church in Spain once "required" the torture and murder of anyone deemed a heretic. Judaism once "required" death by stoning for adulterers. Islam once "required" adherents to use force to convert infidels. To be relevant and successful in the long-term a religion needs to evolve to meet the changing needs and mores of its followers. It's long past time to leave behind any religious justification for circumcision. The religions reasoning behind the practice is simply no longer valid in our modern world.

Justification - Uncircumcised penises are not as clean as circumcised ones.

Reason - Cleanliness is a function of soap and water NOT physiology. No one would dream of suggesting that someone who uses a wheelchair or who has lost an arm or leg is inherently less clean than someone who can walk or who has all their limbs intact. Nor would any reasonable Western person suggest that a girl whose genitalia has been mutilated is somehow more clean than a girl who is unmutilated. This "argument" simply flies in the face of reason and

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