RACP Concludes Circumcision is Not Medically Justified

I received the following press release from NoCirc.org: "San Anselmo, CA – Last week, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
(RACP), along with six other Australasian medical associations, published
its new circumcision policy statement concluding, “After extensive review of
the literature the RACP reaffirms that there is no medical indication for
routine male circumcision.”" Read More for the rest of the release.“It is time for American physicians to follow this lead and reject routine
male circumcision,” said Los Angeles pediatrician Paul Fleiss, M.D. “There
are absolutely no scientific medical reasons for this procedure to continue
parading as standard medical care in the USA.”

“While a handful of American and Canadian circumcision advocates have gotten
recent media attention by promoting circumcision to prevent cervical cancer
or HIV, this new statement takes into account all recent studies and
declares there is no reason to circumcise,” said Marilyn Milos, RN, director
of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers
(NOCIRC). “It is increasingly obvious that a medical fringe element is
working to promote circumcision for no other reason than boosting their
careers or their pocketbooks. What is abhorrent to me is that reasonable
people are taking harmful advice.”

"Physicians have known for years that neither male nor female circumcision
could be justified on medical grounds. In both cases it is done for social
reasons, not medical need," stated Dr. George Denniston, MD, MPH, president
of Doctors Opposing Circumcision. "In the United States, we no longer
circumcise girls, but boys are still unprotected. Perhaps other countries
will have to take the lead away from this outmoded, harmful practice.

Milos said, “When there is no evidence that potential benefits exceed the
known risks and harm of an operation, good medical practice dictates that
the operation not be done. The RACP statement says there are no medical
indications for circumcision. Therefore, any continued practice of routinely
circumcising baby boys is not only medically unnecessary, but also unethical
and, perhaps, criminal.”

The policy statement was adopted by six other Australian and New Zealand
medical organizations, including the Australasian Association of Paediatric
Surgeons, New Zealand Society of Paediatric Surgeons, Royal Australasian
College of Surgeons, and Urological Society of Australasia. The new policy
statement observed there have been increasing claims over recent years of
health benefits from routine male circumcision at a time when the rest of
the western world was eliminating the procedure. The most egregious of these
claims are urinary tract infections, HIV, and penile cancer. This thorough
review of all literature showed these claims cannot be medically
substantiated.

The RACP statement says, “The complication rate of neonatal circumcision is
reported to be around 1% to 5% and includes local infection, bleeding, and
damage to the penis. Serious complications such as bleeding, septicemia, and
meningitis may occasionally cause death.”

NOCIRC claims the complication rate is one hundred percent, calling it ‘male
genital mutilation’ because the boy is denied a fully functioning penis.

Other national medical associations, including the American Cancer Society,
American Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics, also have
circumcision policy statements that find there is no medical justification
for routine infant circumcision. Irresponsibly, they leave the decision to
parents who are often misinformed. In the United States, infant circumcision
is the only surgery prescribed by parents.

The American medical associations did not reply when invited to comment on
the RACP’s new policy statement.

“Parents must be informed they are mutilating their sons,” said Fleiss, “and
that they are not preventing or treating any disease by having the foreskin
removed in the first few days of life. The foreskin is necessary for full
sexual enjoyment and helps protect this vital purpose throughout life. It
should be left alone. Babies have a need to be loved and protected, and I
look forward to the day when the agonizing cry of a newborn male being
circumcised is no longer heard anywhere in the USA.”
The male circumcision rate in the USA is under 60%, down from a high of 85%
in 1979. Most European, Asian, and Latin American countries have a near
zero circumcision rate. Female circumcision has been outlawed in the western
world since at least 1996.

National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers

P.O. Box 2512, San Anselmo, California 94979

www.nocirc.org

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