Deep Cuts: Anti-Circumcision Activists Protest Pediatricians

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'"M.D. doesn’t mean mutilate dicks,” a sign says. “Foreskins are fabulous,” another reads. And yet one more, “Circumcision: history’s greatest medical fraud.”

Anti-circumcision groups, who call themselves "intactivists," are in town for the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference. They’ve organized what they’re calling the Genital Autonomy Demonstration, which began on Saturday. While their main protest location is in front of the convention center, where about 10,000 pediatricians are gathered, some groups have taken their message to the White House and are considering a march on the Mall.

“It’s kind of miserable to strap a baby down and cut off part of his penis,” says Danelle Frisbie, co-founder of Saving Our Sons and the INTACT Network, which has satellite groups in different states. “But it’s a big money maker. It’s a multi-billion dollar business. There are ethical physicians who won’t do it, but others are trying to make a buck.”

Frisbie got involved in the intactivist movement through her postgraduate studies in human sexuality, where she was focusing on female genital mutilation. “I had mentors say, ‘If you’re going to focus so much on female health, you should look at male circumcision.’ It made me question, ‘Why is my position kind of sexist?’ I mean, if it’s wrong to cut baby girls, it’s wrong to cut baby boys.”'