circumcision...would you cut parts of your daughter??

My journey to discovery isn't just about birth. The many abuses that are done to pregnant women, laboring women, and babies in birth don't end once the baby is out in the new world. The abuse continues with a procedure that is "cosmetic" and just plain unnecessary! Cutting a piece of skin off your baby boy is now really only done for looks. BUT not enough people are willing to do the research on this topic and still think that it "needs" to be done for "cleanliness" reasons or to protect them from HIV/AIDS or protect their partner from cervical cancer or just because they think it "looks" better. Those are all the reasons I "wanted" to have my son circumcised. I am so thankful that he was not due to GBS that he contracted from the hospital. I have since learned so many things that are done with NO medical evidence I started looking into this and was horrified to learn that there is no medical reason what so ever to cut good skin of your boys penis. Studies have shown time and time again that circumcising doesn't protect them from HIV/AIDS, I doesn't protect future partners from cervical cancer and is not dirty or unsanitary in any way. So why then is it still "routine" to circumcise?? Here are some facts on Circumcision:

How is Circumcision Done?
Most parents don't know what is actually done
to a baby when he is circumcised. The baby is placed spread-eagle on his back on
a board and his arms and legs are strapped down so that he can't move. His
genitals are scrubbed and covered with antiseptic. His foreskin is torn from the
glans and slit lengthwise so that the circumcision instrument can be inserted.
Then his foreskin is cut off. Most parents who see what is done to a baby when
he is circumcised and how he reacts decide against circumcision and let their
baby keep his foreskin intact.

I know I did once I saw an educational video of it being done to a baby complete with sound I said Nope none of my babies will have that done. Here is a video of a circumcision.

When and why did doctors in the U.S. start circumcising babies?

Doctors in the English-speaking countries started circumcising babies in the mid-1800s "to prevent masturbation," which was blamed for causing many diseases, including epilepsy, tuberculosis, and insanity. Other reasons have been given since then, but all of them, including the claim that circumcision prevents cancer of the penis, cancer of the cervix, and venereal diseases, have been dis proven. We now know that the foreskin is a normal, sensitive, functional part of the body.

Wow, and yet even though all those reasons have been proven wrong we are still mutilating our children's penises for the sake of looks!

Is circumcision painful?
Yes. Circumcision is extremely painful - and traumatic - for a baby. Just being strapped down is frightening for a baby. The often repeated statement that babies can't feel pain is not true. Babies are as sensitive to pain as anyone else. Most babies scream frantically when their foreskin is cut off. Some defecate. Some lapse into a coma. The reason some babies don't cry when they are circumcised, is that they can't cry because they are in a state of shock. Most babies are circumcised without anesthesia. Anesthetics injected into the penis don't always work. Being stuck with a needle in the penis is itself painful for a baby, just as if would be for anyone else. Babies are rarely given pain medication right after they are circumcised or during the week to ten days it takes for the wound to heal. Pain medication is not always effective and is never 100% effective.

Hmm would you want something cut off your body if you were going to feel the whole thing?? I think not so why do this to your newborn baby as one of their first experiences in life??

Does circumcision have risks?
Yes. Like any other surgery, circumcision has risks. They include:

Excessive bleeding
Infection
Complications from anesthesia
Surgical mistakes, including loss of glans and loss of entire penis
Death

Many circumcised males suffer from:

Extensive scarring
Skin tags and skin bridges
Tearing and bleeding at the scar site
Curvature of the penis
Tight, painful erections
Difficulty ejaculating
Impotence
Feelings of having been violated
Feelings of having been mutilated

What a list of risks! I know when I asked my care provider the risks of this I was not told over 75% of the risks on this list.

I know alot of people who do it only because they are worried their child will be teased. The is a possibility but you can say the same for their hair color, eye color anything about them so why start removing body part only to prevent teasing. Would you cut off your daughters labia to keep her from being teased? Would you cut off her nipples just because others were doing it to keep her from being teased? I know I wouldn't so why should a boys penis be any different!?
Here are some links with alot of info:
http://www.nocirc.org/
http://www.notjustskin.com/
http://www.circumcision.org/
http://www.noharmm.org/
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/