Health experts debate merits of circumcision

Article here. Excerpt:

'The National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers of Michigan sponsored an event Sunday, titled “New Perspectives on Circumcision,” at the Michigan League in order to discuss the merits and pitfalls of the debated practice.

John Geisheker, executive director of the nonprofit Doctors Opposing Circumcision, and Robert Van Howe, professor and interim chair of Pediatrics at the Central Michigan University College of Medicine, spoke. The event addressed medical and ethical problems associated with circumcision, a surgical procedure that removes the foreskin around the tip of the penis most commonly performed on newborn males.
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Rackham student Andrew Kohler, member of the University’s chapter of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers, said he believes that circumcision violates one of the most fundamental human rights.

“I think the ownership of one’s own body is one of the most fundamental human rights,” Kohler said. “Especially in the nonconsensual genital modification, it is a serious violation.”

Van Howe said in spite of the evidence against circumcision, the practice remains common in the U.S. possibly because people have difficulty admitting that they have been circumcised.

“People have to first admit that they have been harmed,” Van Howe said. “And that is very difficult for guys to do. We also know that circumcision interferes with men talking about their feelings, and that makes it worse for circumcised men.”

Norm Cohen, director of NOCIRC Michigan, said raising awareness about circumcision is important for the university students since they may have to decide circumcising their children in the future.

“It is very important to make the right choice,” Cohen said.'