Essay On Circumcision

900 Words4 Pages

There are several preconceived notions surrounding the decision of circumcision. Many people believe it is ungodly or unsanitary for males not to be circumcised, while others conclude it is unnecessary or it isn’t important. Circumcision is practiced all over the world by many different religious groups and individuals. These people have different reasons to perform this procedure on themselves or on their children. Many do it for religious reasons, health reasons or cultural reasons. I believe it is imperative for parents not to perform this procedure on their children, despite the few positive outcomes that this operation may carry. With good care and proper personal hygiene practices the child can avoid getting his penis infected. A newborn …show more content…

Some of these methods have proven to be harmful to the lives of many children. According to an article on CNN, ‘Babies herpes linked to circumcision practice’ the lives of many babies are at risk. A circumcision ritual known as metzitzah b’peh, practiced in ultra-Orthodox Jewish community have infected several newborns with the Herpes Virus type 1. During this procedure, the mouth the priest is briefly placed on the penis to suck the remaining blood. During this step, the child would contract the Herpes disease. The health department called the procedure, “dangerous because the contact with the mouth could transmit diseases.” The commissioner of health stated, “There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn.” This issue also goes back to what I previously mentioned about circumcision being a violation of the child’s rights. The department of health made it mandatory for the parent to give consent to the procedure despite the possibility of the child having a lifetime of health complications. This wouldn’t be fair to the child. More than 20,000 kids have been exposed to this procedure and many more will continue to be exposed. The parents will keep risking their child’s lives for religious purposes. Ultimately the child has to live with the decision their parents made if they survive