Economic downturn prevents child genital mutilation

[loic]

From what I read in Newsweek: http://www.newsweek.com/id/192472Read more... )

Comments

[kragen]

I'm happily uncut myself, but I think health reasons (the risk ratio for HIV is something like 0.4 or 0.5 in well-controlled experiments) might justify encouraging or even requiring boys to get circumcised at puberty on public health grounds, depending on things like the prevalence of HIV and other viruses, the prevalence of rape, the availability of antiretroviral drugs, etc.

[tylercox]

circumcised at puberty

*screams like a girl*

[japester]

I got circumcised somewhat around puberty for medical reasons.

It's possibly easier at puberty, because then anaesthetic *will* be used and the body being cut knows what it's going to experience.

[kragen]

The vast majority of people who are circumcised get circumcised at puberty, generally without anesthetic. (Although anesthetic is a much safer option at puberty than at birth, most people don't have access to it.) I think there's also an aspect of interpretation here: 12-year-old boys have a chance of interpreting the event as part of a larger societal pattern and perhaps even accepting it, while babies know only that they are helpless and in agony.

[shrydar]

Happily circumcised myself, so I'd much rather see the decision made on medical grounds than any other - I don't feel strongly on it either way.

(That said, at least one of my younger brothers isn't - and when I was in my early teens my mother told me to ensure he was cleaning under it. Brain bleach pls? Personally I'm quite happy to have one less crevice to clean..)

[loic]

It's really not that complicated to clean :) Boys are usually more than eager to fiddle around down there.

[theducks]

I can't imagine wanting to have that done to any children, regardless of price

Ditto.

It's not the end of the world, but it's still not a nice welcome to the world.

[loic]

It's fairly well documented that it reduces sensitivity in the glans for men. I understand that that might be a fair trade-off if there are serious health concerns at stake, just like if I had penis cancer I'd have them chop the whole thing off, but it's not something we should be taking lightly.

[anonymous]

it's extremely hard finding a pediatrician who will circ a baby with medi-cal insurance. the only 2 pediatricians in oakland that i know of who will circ medi-cal patients charge about $350-400 per circ, and one requires that you become a full time patient in their clinic. i believe it'd would be much more expensive when older, ie. in puberty, b/c of the anesthesia required.

[loic]

When they're older there might be a better chance of having coverage since there's likely to be a pressing medical condition to justify the surgery.