Bay Area Activists to Protest Male Circumcision at the ACOG Convention

In a recent press release, Jews Against Circumcision
(http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org) and Bay Area iNtactivist Group (http://www.motherlove.org/bang) have put out a call for a ongoing protest at the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) convention in San Francisco from May 7th through the 11th in front of the Moscone Center on Howard St. between 3rd and 4th Streets. People will assemble at 7:30 A.M. each morning and protest all day. Everyone is welcome to join.

The issue of the nonconsensual genital cutting of infants raises serious issues in medical ethics and human rights. Increasingly, theorists in anarchistic ethics have been developing a view that the morality of an action can be judged by the level of consent or coercion in it. Anarchists see consensual actions as just, and view oppressive institutions as unjust and coercive. Infant circumcision is an act perpetrated by the institutions of medicine and, sometimes, religion. It violates the individual's right to consent to the unnecessary of amputation of 1/3 to one half of the skin covering a normal penis. An adult foreskin includes 50% or more of penile nerves, three to four feet of blood vessels, 240 feet of nerves, and between 10,000 and 20,000 specialized nerve endings. Circumcision removes 100% of
the most sensitive, erogenous nerves and sometimes amputates the frenulum - the natural trigger for ejaculation in males. No medical society in the world that recommends circumcision, not even the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The press release states that the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists "is responsible for 60% of male circumcisions in the USA. They refuse to allow NOCIRC to exhibit at their convention because they don't consider circumcision to be a woman's health issue. It is ironic that a medical organization dedicated to protecting female health and sexuality routinely harms males."

In the United States, about 55% of boys are routinely circumcised at birth as a social custom originally intended to prevent masturbation. Worldwide, 85% of men are not circumcised. Circumcision is not practiced in most European, Asian, and Latin countries. Recently, some Scandinavian countries have considered outlawing circumcision. The website http://www.MGMbill.org seeks to outlaw male genital mutilation in the United States "so that boys may enjoy the same protection from circumcision as girls."

For more information about the intactivist movement in the San Francisco Bay Area, email <bang [at] motherlove.org>. For more information about the global intactivist movement, which seeks to end the nonconsensual cutting of males, females, and intersexed individuals, view the following websites:

NOHARMM (National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males) - http://www.noharmm.org
Circumcision Information and Resource Pages - http://www.cirp.org
NOCIRC (National Organization of Circumcision Resource Centers) -http://www.nocirc.org
Stop Infant Circumcision Society -  http://www.stopinfantcircumcision.org
NORM (National Organization of Restoring Men) - http://www.norm.org
NORM-UK -http://www.norm-uk.org
Doctors Opposing Circumcision -http://faculty.washington.edu/gcd/DOC
Foreskin -http://www.foreskin.org
Ashley Montagu Resolution and Petition - http://montagunocircpetition.org
Circumcision Resource Center -http://www.circumcision.org
Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project -http://www.fgmnetwork.org
Attorneys for the Rights of the Child -http://www.arclaw.org
Law Office of David J. Llewelyn (wrongful circumcision attorney) - http://firms.findlaw.com//llewellynlaw/practices.htm
Quotes -http://www.circumcisionquotes.com
BoysToo - http://www.boystoo.com
In Memory of the Sexually Mutilated Child -http://www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org
Intactivism Pages  - http://www.circumstitions.com
International Coalition for Genital Integrity -http://www.icgi.org
Mothers Against  Circumcision -http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org
Jews Against Circumcision -http://www.jewsagainstcircumcision.org
Catholics Against Circumcision -http://www.catholicsagainstcircumcision.org
Circumcised at 13 -http://www.jusay.com/circ13
History of Circumcision -http://www.historyofcircumcision.net
Circumcision Information Australia -http://www.circinfo.org
Intersex Society of North America -http://www.isna.org
Intersex Initiative -http://www.intersexinitiative.org
Students for Genital Integrity -http://www.studentsforgenitalintegrity.org
Musicians United to Stop Infant Circumcision -http://www.musiciansunited.org
Nurses for the Rights of the Child  - http://www.nurses.cirp.org
Intact -http://www.intact.ca
Sex As Nature Intended It -http://www.sexasnatureintendedit.com
StopCirc -http://www.stopcirc.com
Pen & Teller: Bullshit! - http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/topics.do