The circumcision of baby boys is not the harmless, medically necessary procedure that we have been led to believe. In reality, infant circumcision is the excruciatingly painful and medically unnecessary mutilation of a baby's genitals. It inflicts serious physical and psychological injuries that last a lifetime. The foreskin, more properly called the prepuce, is a fold of skin that covers the glans, or head, of the intact penis. It protects the very sensitive glans and is extremely sensitive itself.
Circumcision is the amputation of the prepuce from the penis.
The procedure is typically performed without anesthesia. Extensive medical studies have conclusively demonstrated that the infant boy experiences extreme pain during the procedure. By any reasonable definition, the medically unnecessary mutilation of a child's genitals in an extremely painful manner is child sexual abuse. Due to the pain and permanent mutilation involved, infant circumcision is, in fact, a severe form of child sexual abuse. Our social conditioning makes it difficult for most of us recognize circumcision as abusive.