Circumcision: The Parent's Decision

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Circumcision: Past and Present, Scriptural and Medical

I. Medical: Definition and Procedures

A. Definition: Circumcision is the removal of some or all of the foreskin

(prepuce) from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latincircum(meaning "around") and cdere (meaning "to cut") which originated fromthe Hebrew word bris/brit or karet meaning (covenenant or excision).

B. Procedures: For infant circumcision, clamps are often used. Clamps aredesigned to cut the blood supply to the foreskin, stop any bleeding and

protect the glans. Before using a clamp, the foreskin and the glans areseparated with a blunt probe and/or curved hemostat.

C: Faith History: Male circumcision is a faith based commandment inYahudim/Judaism as well as in Muslims/Islamic faith, and customary in

some Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and

other Chr-stian churches in Africa.

II. Those Against Circumcision:

A. Summary: The World Health Organizations (WHO), global estimates

suggest that 30% of males have been circumcised. Opponents ofcircumcision condemn infant circumcision as being medically unjustified, an

infringement upon individual bodily rights, and a cause of sexual impairment.Views differ on whether limits should be placed on caregivers having a child

circumcised.

Some medical associations take the position that the parents shoulddetermine what is in the best interest of the infant or child, but the RoyalAustralasian College of Physicians (RACP) and the British Medical Association

(BMA) observe that controversy exists on this issue. The BMA state that theybelieve in general, "the parents should determine how best to promote their

childrens interests, and it is for society to decide what limits should beimposed on parental choices." They state that because they believe parents'

interests and the child's interests sometimes differ, there are "limits onparents' rights to choose and parents are not entitled to demand medicalprocedures contrary to their child's best interests." They state that they

believe competent children may decide for themselves.

Some argue that the medical problems that have their risk reduced bycircumcision are already rare, can be avoided, and, if they occur, can usually

be treated in less invasive ways than circumcision. Somerville states that theremoval of healthy genital tissue from a minor should not be subject to

parental discretion and that physicians who perform the procedure are notacting in accordance with their ethical duties to the patient.
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/system/surgical/circumcision.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreskinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepucehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemostasishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_Christianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Orthodoxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eritrean_Orthodoxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Orthodoxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genital_integrityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genital_integrityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Australasian_College_of_Physicianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Australasian_College_of_Physicianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Medical_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Somervillehttp://www.kidshealth.org/parent/system/surgical/circumcision.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreskinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepucehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemostasishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_Christianhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Orthodoxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eritrean_Orthodoxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Orthodoxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genital_integrityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genital_integrityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Australasian_College_of_Physicianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Australasian_College_of_Physicianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Medical_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Somerville


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Others believe neonatal circumcision is permissible, if parents should sochoose. Benatar and Benatar argue that circumcision can be beneficial to a

male before he would be able to otherwise provide consent, that "it is farfrom obvious that circumcision reduces sexual pleasure," and that "it is farfrom clear that non-circumcision leaves open a future persons options inevery regard." In a cultural or religious context, Levenson argues that

circumcision is of significant enough importance that parental consent issufficient and that any possible misgivings surrounding the issue of consent

are not significant enough to limit the exercise of infant/childhoodcircumcision.

Some critics of circumcision say that there are risks for: infection, bleeding,future sexual dysfunctions, post traumatic stress disorder, pain, neurological

effects, and changes in sleep patterns. However we were unable to find suchclaims in a scientific study.

III. Those For Circumcision:

A. Summary:

Advocates of circumcision regard it as a worthwhile public health measure,

particularly in the control of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. In March 2007 theWHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) statedthat male circumcision is an effective intervention for HIV prevention, butalso stated that male circumcision only provides partial protection and should

not replace other interventions to prevent the heterosexual transmission ofHIV. Circumcision may also be used to treat inflammation of the glans.

B. Some Studies:

-November 2006 a 25 yr study by Dr. David M. Fergusson fromChristchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences report that Circumcised

males are less likely than their uncircumcised peers to acquire a sexuallytransmitted infection.

-December 2007 - In Time Magazine's issue of 2007 Top 10 lists, JohnsHopkins University's discovery that circumcision can prevent HIV ishailed as the number one medical breakthrough of 2007. Theacknowledgement refers to the February 2007 results of a study by

Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty members Ronald

Gray, MBBS, MSc, and Maria Wawer, MD, MHSc, School of Medicine facultymembers Thomas C. Quinn, MD, MSc, Oliver Laeyendecker, MS, MBA, andSteve Reynolds, MDCM, MPH, and Makerere University (Uganda)

faculty members David Serwadda and Nelson Sewankambo. Time paraphasesthe study results that were published in the Lancet: "In the two randomizedtrials, which included 7,780 HIV-negative men in Rakai, Uganda, and Kisumu,and Kenya, researchers found that medically-circumcised men were at least
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision_advocacyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_United_Nations_Programme_on_HIV/AIDShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIVhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanitishttp://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686252_1690372,00.htmlhttp://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686252_1690372,00.htmlhttp://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=928http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=928http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=1218http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=61http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=1432http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=1204http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision_advocacyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_United_Nations_Programme_on_HIV/AIDShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIVhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanitishttp://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686252_1690372,00.htmlhttp://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=928http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=928http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=1218http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=61http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=1432http://research.hopkinsglobalhealth.org/GlobalFacultyPage.cfm?global_faculty_id=1204


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51 percent less likely than uncircumcised men to acquire HIV during sex withwomen."

-1998 - American Council on Science and Health, Contents: Volume 9Number 4 (1998) From this volume we read: "Circumcision is like a

substantial and well-secured annuity; every year of life you draw thebenefits. Parents cannot make a better paying investment for their littleboys." An 1891 book on the medical aspects of neonatal (newborn)circumcision included this statement by Dr. P. C. Remondino, a prominent

California physician of the era. Now, over a century later, a burgeoning bodyof peer-reviewed reports in the scientific literature confirms that circumcision

is an important preventive health measure. That circumcision is protectiveagainstpenile cancerand local infection (balanoposthitis) has long been

known. Remondino was also aware that uncircumcised men have a higherlikelihood of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularlysyphilis and chancroid, than have circumcised men. During World War IImany U.S. recruits were circumcised to protect them against balanoposthitis.

Such infection was a significant cause of active-duty loss among troops,particularly in the North African campaign (because of the combination of

sand and poor hygiene). Military medics also felt that circumcision helpedprevent STDs. In the past decade published studies have shown that the

presence of a foreskin increases the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs),which are most dangerous during infancy, and the risk of HIV infection.

IV. Scriptural and History

A. Definition:

Brit milah (Hebrew: [b'rt m'l] literally: "covenant of

circumcision"), also berit milah (Sephardi), bris milah (Ashkenazipronunciation) or bris (Yiddish) is a religious ceremony withinYahudism/aka Judaism to welcome infant Male Yahudim (boy Jews) into acovenant between Yah and the Children of Yisrayah through ritual

circumcision performed by a mohel("circumciser"), on the eighth day ofthe child's life unless health reasons force a delay, in the presence of family

and friends, followed by a celebratory meal (seudat mitzvah). The malechild is often formally named during this ceremony as well.

According to the Hebrew Scriptures, in the Book of Bereshith(Gen) 17:1-14

(11), circumcision was enjoined when Yah said "Walk before Me and beperfect" to the Scriptural patriarch Abraham to be followed by his

descendants as "a token of the everlasting covenant" concluded with him byYah for all generations. It is also when his name is changed from "Abram" to

"Abraham" by Yah.

Everlasting Covenant: an agreement between Yah and his people in whichYah makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in
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return and is never ending. All the generations after Abraham were to dothis. A binding agreement.

The penalty of non-observance of circumcision was called karet, "excision"from the people or being cut off from the community by Yah, as noted inBere/Genesis 17:14. Conversion to Yahudim/Judaism for non-Yisrayahites in

Scriptures times necessitated circumcision otherwise one could not partake inthe Passover offering (Shemoth/Exodus 12:48). Today, as in the time of

Abraham, it is required of converts in followers of the Torah and theScriptures. (Bere/Genesis 34:14-16). See also. Deut/Way. 10:16

Strongs 5234: Namal: to become clipped or circumcised; a branch to be cut off

Strongs 4135: Muwl (mool): a prime root, to cute short; cutal; prepuce tocircumcise by whole or blunt; to destroy; cut down in pieces; must needs.

Strongs 4059: from: 574 flight to be gone; to flap up and down; to rove, flee, or tocause drive away; chase away; could not depart/flee; remove; thrust away; wander

abroad.

This was a process of becoming clean and symbolized a removal of the unclean.

Brit milah is considered to be so important that should the eighth day fall onthe Shabbat; actions that would normally be forbidden because of the set

apartness of the day are permitted in order to fulfill the requirement tocircumcise.

V. What the 8th Day?

A. In Scriptures:

We can see that in Scriptures the number 7 is a number of completion; usedin the faith and scriptures several times; i.e. 7 days of creation, 7 set apartfeast days.

B. Why the 8th day?

In 1935, professor H. Dam proposed the name vitamin K for the factor infoods that helped prevent hemorrhaging in baby chicks. We now knowvitamin K is responsible for the production (by the liver) of the element

known as pro-throm-bin. If vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombindeficiency and hemorrhaging may occur. Oddly, it is only on the fifth through

the seventh days of the newborn males life that vitamin K (produced bybacteria in the intestinal tract) is present in adequate quantities. Vitamin K,

coupled with prothrombin, causes blood coagulation, which is important inany surgical procedure. Holt and McIntosh, in their classic work, Holt

Pediatrics, observed that a newborn infant has peculiar susceptibility tobleeding between the second and fifth days of life.... Hemorrhages at thistime, though often inconsequential, are sometimes extensive; they mayproduce serious damage to internal organs, especially to the brain, and cause

death from shock and exsanguinations. Obviously, then, if vitamin K is not
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produced in sufficient quantities until days five through seven, it would bewise to postpone any surgery until some time after that. Also known as

waiting 7 days to be safe. On the eighth day, the amount of prothrombinpresent actually is elevated above one-hundred percent of normaland is theonly day in the males life in which this will be the case under normalconditions. If surgery is to be performed, day eight is the perfect day to do it.

Vitamin K and prothrombin levels are at their peak. Please reference thechart on your handouts for a visual representation of this peak.

Moshes (Mosess) information, as recorded in Berethith/Genesis 17:12, notonly was scientifically accurate, but was years ahead of its time. How did

Moshe (Moses) have access to such information? Hmmm.

Please reference the Great Resources for mom and dad on your handout:

Public Library (health, reference, religion)Encyclopedias and Dictionaries at home

Strongs ConcordanceThe Scriptures, the Torah, or the KJ Version

Check out Amazon, the Library, or YouTube for videos on Circumcision

www.google.com (Google it!!!)en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

www.circumcision.orgwww.cirp.org

www.mothersagainstcirc.orgwww.circumcision.net

www.circinfo.comwww.nocirc.org

www.mayoclinic.com/health/circumcision/PR00040

www.jewfaq.org/birth.htmjudaism.about.com/library/3_lifecycles/bris/blbrit.htm

www.torahview.com/bris/html/the_bris.html

- Bereshith (Gen) 17:1-14 (11)
http://www.google.com/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/circumcision/PR00040http://www.jewfaq.org/birth.htmhttp://www.torahview.com/bris/html/the_bris.htmlhttp://www.google.com/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/circumcision/PR00040http://www.jewfaq.org/birth.htmhttp://www.torahview.com/bris/html/the_bris.html


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- Shemoth (Ex) 12:48- Bereshit (Gen) 34:14-16- Debarim (Deut) 10:16 and 30:6- Wayyiqra (Lev) 12- Yahshua (Joshua) 5:2-5- YirmeYahu (Jer) 9:24-26

Strongs 5234: Namal: to become clipped or circumcised; a branch to be cut off; karet,"excision"Strongs 4135: Muwl (mool): a prime root, to cute short; cutal; prepuce to circumcise bywhole or blunt; to destroy; cut down in pieces; must needs.Strongs 4059: from: 574 flight to be gone; to flap up and down; to rove, flee, or to causedrive away; chase away; could not depart/flee; remove; thrust away; wander abroad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus

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Circumcision: The Parent's Decision