Ban on Circumcision Could Become Law in Santa Monica
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Circumcising a boy under the age of 18, even for religious reasons, may soon be against the law in Santa Monica.
A proposed ban on circumcision is already on the November ballot in San Francisco.
Now supporters of the MGM Bill, which stands for male genital mutilation, are hoping to do the same in Santa Monica.
Female circumcision, or also called female genital mutilation, is already outlawed in the U.S.
Jenna Troutman, a spokeswoman for the group MGM Bill and founder of the website wholebabyrevolution.com, says males should get the same protection.
The group describes circumcision as a painful and unnecessary procedure.
But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, circumcision has been associated with a lower risk for HIV, urinary infections and the transmission of STD’s.
Circumcision of male infants is a religious requirement in Judaism and some say a ban would be a violation of the 1st Amendment.
The proposed measure in San Francisco would “make it a misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the foreskin, testicle or penis of another person who has not attained the age of 18,”
Under the San Francisco measure, circumcising a boy would result in a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail.
Whether having a foreskin,or not, has any effect on HIV or other STI transmission, one thing is definite, until the boy starts to have intercourse he is not exposed the infection. Therefore there is no need to remove his foreskin at birth, it can wait until he is old enough to have sex, and then he can decide for himself. If he waits for marriage and has sex only with his wife, he will never have to worry about a sexually transmitted disease, and he can keep his foreskin, along with the extra pleasure sex will give him.
I was deprived of my foreskin long before I knew what it was for, and now in middle age have a numbed dead penis, useful only for urinating with.
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We must laud and praise the courage and initiative of those who are bringing forward public votes to end circumcision in San Francisco, Santa Monica and likely other places. It is grassroots and another important justice movement like those that ended slavery, segregation, suppression of women, repression of gays and more. Every male and female child has the right to genital integrity. Culture and tradition can be tyranny if they cause others to suffer. America is only now waking up to learn what so much of the world knows. Parents have no inherent right to order a part of boys’ penises to be chopped off. It is perverse, idiotic, cruel, unconscienable and wrong. I thank my instincts for not following the crowd when we left our son intact 36 years ago. Now he and my daughter have left their sons whole. You CAN break the chain and habit of cultural cruelty.
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