The practice of circumcising babies should be discontinued

I thank theLwerd for accepting; I'm excited to have such an esteemed opponent. "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." Circumcision has pulled a similar trick, with us failing to really interrogate the wisdom and logic behind what should rightfully be termed "male genital mutilation;" we all simply accept the conventional wisdom that circumcisions' effects are totally benign and it is a necessary practice. I think my opponent has made a grave mistake by accepting the unsubstantiated "conventional wisdom" in the U.S. that "it's pretty undeniable that circumcision has vast medical, aesthetic and physical benefits." (theLwerd) I ask her to present all her evidence for this in R2, so I have a chance to refute it at length. In fact, the evidence in favor of circumcision is extremely sparse. The U.S. is the only country in the world that circumcises the majority of its male infants for non-religious reasons. [1] "From a global perspective, most of the world rejects circumcision: over 80 percent of the world's males are intact (not circumcised)." [2] Before I begin my case, I want to address one thing theLwerd said – that she will argue circumcision is a parental right. I agree it is a right, but the resolution is not whether people CAN make that decision for their children, but whether parents SHOULD make that decision for them. I made it clear that this debate would not assume a government-mandated ban on circumcision. ==My case== 1. Supposed health benefits According to Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., "The American Academy of Pediatricians, the country's largest organization of physicians who care for infants, has not found any proven medical benefit from circumcision. In fact, no national medical organization in the world recommends routine circumcision for male infants." [3] 2. Infant pain Imagine being plucked from your loving mother's arms by a group of strangers, forcibly strapped to a table, stripped naked, having your foreskin painfully stretched and clamped, and then having the most sensitive part of your body slowly cut away, in what would seem like an eternity to an infant. This "procedure" lasts 15 minutes, and is usually administered in the United States WITHOUT ANESTHETICS because anesthetics can cause severe side-effects in babies. [4] Frederick Leboyer, obstetrician, observes that "the torture is experienced in a state of total helplessness which makes it even more frightening and unbearable." [5] Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., explains that "the latest research studies all support the conclusion that circumcision is overwhelmingly painful for infants." [6] Most of our "conventional wisdom" about circumcision comes from the mistaken premise in the medical community, originating in the late 1800's, that infants were "little more intelligent than a vegetable" (U.Penn. 1895) and thus could not feel pain or form memories. [7] This view has been widely debunked by modern research. Memory According to Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., studies have found that after birth, infants can remember stimuli played to them while in utero; infants can remember objects they are shown, and 4-week old infants can identify a picture of their own pacifier, even when the pacifier is not present. [8] Pain A definitive meta-study of infant pain done by researchers at the Children's Hospital of Boston, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that infants' responses to pain are "similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects." [9] Infants experience pain in a greater way than adults because infants "function on . . . a very deep feeling-experiential body level . . . No intellectual abilities are required." [10] Infants experience pain only on a sensory level – they are incapable of rationalizing it away, unlike adults. Post-op studies Studies of male infants, following their circumcisions, show significant changes in behavior. According to Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., studies have shown that post-circumcision, babies have trouble sleeping, are more irritable, show an unwillingness to interact with their mothers, and are less capable of comforting themselves or being comforted by others. [11] In the most definitive study done to date, "the behavior of nearly 90 percent of circumcised infants SIGNIFICANTLY changed after the circumcision." [12] To believe that the extreme trauma from circumcision does not affect babies' development is absurd. Babies who undergo circumcision immediately begin showing anti-social tendencies and a lack of trust towards others. 3. Complications According to Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., up to 38% of circumcised babies experience some form of medical complication, such as infection, during their first year. [13] In addition, the Journal of Urology reports that 1.5% of circumcisions are botched, often resulting in the need for a complete penile amputation. [14] The documentary "It's a Boy" estimates that one in 50 circumcisions results in serious complications, such as permanent disfigurement, penile amputation, or death. [15] 4. Cleanliness According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "The uncircumcised penis is easy to keep clean; no special care is required. Normal bathing is sufficient." [16] 5. Supposedly "useless flap of skin" The foreskin is not useless – it actually performs many functions. According to various urological experts, the foreskin contains 50% of the penile skin, making the penis appear and feel larger; foreskin contains 20,000 erogenous nerve endings specialized in sensing slight motion and subtle gradations in texture; the foreskin can easily slide back and forth over the glans (the tip of the penis), obviating the need for lubrication; females often find intercourse with circumcised males painful because "without this gliding action, the corona of the circumcised penis can function as a one-way valve, dragging vaginal lubricants out into the drying air and making artificial lubricants essential for non-painful intercourse;" lastly, the foreskin secretes plasma cells that keep the glans skin moist and antibodies that protect intact males from STD's. [17] Without the foreskin, the glans skin, which is normally a moist membrane, completely dries out and hardens. [18] Only men circumcised as adults can experience intercourse both with and without foreskin and thus compare the experiences. According to a study of such men in the Journal of Sex Research, "men circumcised as adults regret the change." [19] 6. Improper framing "Un"-circumcised implies that circumcision should be the norm. [20] The proper nomenclature should be "male genital mutilation," much as Westerns have decided to call "female circumcision" "female genital mutilation." [21] 7. Choice You can't "undo" a circumcision and re-attach the foreskin later in life, so parents should allow their children to make the decision for themselves, as adults. According to a survey, 35 percent of circumcised adults wish they were intact; most of them cited, as a reason, that they had learned that foreskin serves important functions. [22] The other 65% may very well be oblivious to what they have lost. There are net benefits to doing the procedure as an adult: adults can rationalize the procedure, making it less traumatic, and can use anesthetics to eliminate the pain. Adults also have no one to blame for the decision but themselves. 8. Long term effects According to Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., circumcision trauma can cause PTSD, impotence, and avoidance of intimacy. [23] [1] Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma, p. 3 [2] Ibid, p. 2 [3] Ibid [4] Ibid, p. 24 [5] Ibid, p. 28 [6] Ibid, p. 27 [7] Ibid, p. 7 [8] Ibid, p. 18 [9] Ibid, p. 19 [10] Ibid p. 9 [11] Ibid, p. 24-25 [12] Ibid, p. 25 [13] Ibid, p. 30 [14] http://www.fathermag.com... [15] Ibid [16] Goldman, p. 31 [17] htt