Victim's Perspective

I am writing to ask you to sponsor a proposed bill that would protect boys from the harmful practice of male genital mutilation, also known as circumcision. As you may already know, circumcision removes the most sexually sensitive parts of a boy’s penis, including the foreskin, the frenulum, and the ridged band of nerves. Although girls have been protected from all forms of genital cutting since 1996 by California law, one out of every five boys in our state are still circumcised without their consent because no specific law exists to protect them.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association advise against routine male circumcision, and no national medical association in the world recommends that boys be forcefully circumcised for preventive health reasons. In addition, the California Constitution guarantees every citizen equal protection of the laws. If we care enough to protect our girls from circumcision, shouldn’t we care enough to protect our boys as well?

The proposed legislation that would end this discrimination is called the MGM Bill. It was submitted to every member of the California State Legislature on January 12, 2009, and the text of this proposed bill is located at http://www.mgmbill.org/camgmbill.htm.

For the sake of men’s sexual health, human rights, and citizen equality, I urge you to take a stand against male genital mutilation. Please sponsor the MGM Bill!

As a victim of circumcision, I am writing to ask you to support a proposed bill that would protect future generations of men from going through what I did. Shortly after I was born, a decision was made by others to have me circumcised. Because I was only a small child, I could not do anything to stop it and I have lived with the consequences ever since.

As it does to all its male victims, circumcision took away forever my ability to fully experience sexual pleasure. My frenulum was severed and amputated, the ridged band of nerves and foreskin were stripped off, and the gliding mechanism that nature designed for me was replaced with an ugly and painful scar.

But that was only the beginning. My body responded to this assault by forming layers of desensitizing keratin to protect what was left of my exposed penis. Over time, the progressive buildup of this dry, callus-like substance has made my diminished sexual responsiveness even worse.

Why are girls protected from this practice but not boys? It is too late to protect me, but you can still protect the more than 50,000 California boys who are subjected to circumcision each year by sponsoring the MGM Bill proposal at http://www.mgmbill.org/camgmbill.htm.

Will you please sponsor this bill?

Activist's Perspective

As a parent who has always put the interests of my children above all else when making medical decisions for them, I find it quite disturbing that California law still allows the practice of male circumcision to continue. When I agreed to have my son circumcised, I was told by my physician that it was a harmless and routine procedure to improve hygiene. Based on this advice I signed the consent form, hoping that I was doing the right thing for my new baby boy.

It wasn’t until after I brought my son home that I learned about the devastating sexual side effects of circumcision. Never during the course of my conversation with my doctor was it revealed to me that circumcision removes thousands of specialized and unique nerve endings that are designed specifically to enhance sexual pleasure. Nor was I told that circumcision initiates a process called keratinization, which causes layers of callus to form over the nerve endings that remain, thus decreasing sensitivity even further.

To say that I was misled by my doctor is an understatement. When I later researched the function of the foreskin, I learned that in addition to the protection it provides and the nerves it contains, the foreskin is also designed to act as a frictionless gliding mechanism that reduces chafing and dryness for both a male and his partner during intercourse. I also learned that most physicians do not disclose any of this information to parents when “selling” them on circumcision.

Doesn’t a person's right to bodily integrity outweigh the social or religious preferences of another person to alter a boy’s penis for medically unnecessary reasons? There is a bill proposal at http://www.mgmbill.org/camgmbill.htm that would protect boys from this harmful practice. As one of millions of parents who have fallen victim to the medical and religious scam known as circumcision, I urge you to introduce and champion this bill.

The subject of my letter is the problem of circumcision, which is forced onto roughly 20% of California boys. Like female circumcision, male circumcision impairs the sexual function of its victims by removing erogenous tissue that is designed to enhance sexual pleasure. The foreskin includes the frenulum, the ridged band of nerves, and thousands of specialized nerve receptors that are an essential part of male genital anatomy.

The male foreskin is also designed to protect the glans of the penis throughout a man’s life, ensuring that the internal mucosal tissue remains moist and sensitive (much the same way that a woman’s clitoral hood protects the clitoris). In addition, the foreskin acts as a natural gliding mechanism to reduce chafing and dryness during intercourse.

Because I find circumcision to be cruel and inhumane, I have taken it upon myself to become an activist in the battle against male genital mutilation (MGM). As an “intactivist”, I attend genital integrity conferences and symposiums, I participate in letter writing campaigns, and I take part in demonstrations designed to draw public attention to the issue of MGM. Cutting off a boy’s foreskin in the name of tradition or religion is no different than cutting off part of a girl’s genitals for the same reasons, and I intend to do everything in my power to bring this abominable human rights violation to an end.

I can’t win this battle without the help of my government, though, so I am writing to ask you to sponsor the MGM Bill proposal that was submitted to every member of the California State Legislature on January 12, 2009. The MGM Bill would ensure that all children are equally protected from circumcision by adding gender neutral language to the Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1996 (CA Penal Code 273.4).

Will you help protect the genital integrity of our boys by sponsoring this bill? The bill proposal may be found at http://www.mgmbill.org/camgmbill.htm.

Jewish Perspective

I am writing this letter to inform you of a medical and religious practice that is having a devastating effect on men’s sexual health. The practice is known as male circumcision, which is the surgical removal of the foreskin.

Circumcision was introduced in the U.S. in the 1800s as a way to discourage masturbation, but when it became apparent that masturbation is not harmful and that circumcised boys masturbate anyway, new reasons were invented to perpetuate this lucrative and medically unnecessary practice. Even today, most medical practitioners and religious circumcisers (mohels) advise parents that circumcision is a harmless cosmetic procedure. But as a physician who has both witnessed circumcisions and studied the effects of the procedure, I can tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.

Circumcision removes thousands of highly specialized nerve endings and deprives the penis of its natural protective covering and its lubricating function during sexual stimulation. The end result of the nerve amputation combined with the subsequent keratinization of the remaining glans and shaft skin is a significant decline in male sexual sensitivity and function. In addition, a number of studies indicate that circumcision causes significant psychological trauma to male victims who are aware of the damage they have sustained.

It has come to my attention that a legislative proposal called the MGM Bill has been submitted to every member of the California legislature in an attempt to legally protect boys from circumcision the same way that girls are protected (see the bill at http://www.mgmbill.org/camgmbill.htm). As a physician, I support this bill because I believe that male circumcision is a practice that causes far more harm than good.

Please sponsor the MGM Bill so that our male children can be protected from this outdated and unethical practice.

As you probably know, many Jews around the world practice ritual male circumcision (or Brit Milah), which is the surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis. It is typically performed on a Jewish baby boy on the eighth day of his life without anesthesia, and without his consent.

As a Jew, I find it discriminatory that my government protects girls from having their genitals cut in the name of religion, but not boys. Why is it that the law protects only one gender from religiously motivated genital cutting when both genders suffer similar consequences? Don’t boys have the same right to keep their genital organs intact as girls?

Male circumcision removes thousands of nerve endings, and it causes the penis to dry out and form a tough, leathery surface that dulls the sexual feeling that remains. We would never allow religious officials or parents to cut off an eyelid or a breast or a finger of an infant in the name of religion, yet we look the other way when a boy’s genitals are cut.

I believe that male circumcision is a form of sexual assault that is no different in principle than female circumcision. Although a growing number of Jews are moving away from circumcision toward a non-cutting naming ceremony called Brit Shalom, the majority of American Jews still have their male children circumcised in hospitals or bris ceremonies. I feel strongly that something needs to be done to stop these remaining circumcisions from being performed.

A group in San Diego is promoting a bill proposal called the MGM Bill that would legally protect boys from being circumcised for medically unnecessary reasons (see http://www.mgmbill.org/camgmbill.htm). For the health, safety, and welfare of all our male children, I urge you to sponsor and publicly support this bill.

Recently you may have heard about several African studies that found a link between male circumcision and reduced transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus. While adults are certainly free to choose this elective surgery if they feel it will make them safer (after being fully informed of the risks and consequences), that does not mean that healthy normal infants and children should be forced to undergo circumcision simply because it might offer some possible medical benefit in the future. By the same token, minors should not be forced to undergo circumcision simply to satisfy the religious, cultural, or cosmetic preferences of their parents.

Unfortunately, roughly 1 in 5 newborn males in California are still forcefully circumcised either because the parents request it or because a doctor or religious advisor suggests it. To make matters even worse, a few physicians are now calling for circumcision to be forced onto all male infants because of the “potential medical benefits”.

But male circumcision removes the foreskin, which is a specialized zone of tissue designed to enhance sexual pleasure. Contained within the male foreskin are thousands of erogenous nerve endings, and its unique double fold of skin creates a frictionless natural gliding mechanism during sexual activity. In addition, the foreskin protects the sensitivity of the penis by providing a moist environment - much the same way that the eyelids protect the eyes, and the way the female foreskin protects the clitoris. Recent studies have also shown that circumcised men experience significantly less sexual pleasure than intact men.

Girls have been protected from all forms of medically unnecessary genital cutting (with no religious exceptions) since 1996, when the California Female Genital Mutilation Act took effect. Isn’t it time we do something to protect boys, too? On behalf of U.S. male infants and children, I am writing to ask you to formally sponsor the Male Genital Mutilation (MGM) Bill proposal located at http://www.mgmbill.org/camgmbill.htm. The MGM Bill would protect all boys in California from forced circumcision so that men can decide for themselves whether or not to undergo this surgery when they reach the age of consent.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this long overdue health and human rights legislation.