THE CIRCUMCISION DEBATE - LINKS AND COMMENTS

UPDATED EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS NOW

 AT THE COMMENT COLUMN

WITH LINKS TO THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

"Hohn ist die Schere des Mohels der die Vorhaut der Unvernunft abschneidet"
"Derision is the Mohel of Reason's knife."
Spinoza

  
http://analytic-comments.blogspot.com/2012/11/offener-brief-den-juedischen-zentral.html

PSYCHOANALYTIC COMMENTS

OCCASIONAL COMMENTS ON PSCHO-ANALYTIC MATTERS + CONTIBUTIONS from MICHAEL ROLOFF

The purpose of this Weblog is to supply information to help the discussion of the German Circumcision controversy.

I initially threw up the first version of the blog shortly before the German Ethic Council was to meet to discuss what to do, more on that further down.

1) http://analytic-comments.blogspot.com/2012/10/michael-wolffsohns-foreskin-of-heart.html  

  http://www.circumcisioncomplex.com/fundamentals/

 The theory of circumcision however submits that circumcision was caused by a single dynamic- lack of fresh water- and subsequently the unhygienic conditions arising from irregular ablution. Irregular ablution causes, bad odour, thrush, cystitis, and other poor sanitation infections, which diminish libidos and stifle sexual concert with the main malefactors being unwashed and accumulated smegma, or poorly managed menstruation. Relatedly, non-circumcising groups are commonly settled around large fresh water bodies, as those which practice circumcision are settled far from fresh water bodies. Indeed, the prescription of mid-teen-age for circumcision is preemptively designed, to prepare teens for healthy relationships devoid of stigmatising claims of uncleanliness or sexual deficiency.

Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/thenairobian/article/2000122911/is-circumcision-a-rite-because-of-lack-of-water http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/thenairobian/article/2000122911/is-circumcision-a-rite-because-of-lack-of-water​

http://eewiki.newint.org/index.php/Is_male_circumcisionyou%3F

_bad_for_

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agree with MC for personal, cultural, financial, and professional reasons. No medical organization finds any proven medical benefit for circumcision, and European organizations are against circumcision. Circumcision is painful and a shock to the system.-- 

http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2013/03/18/130530.htm

Doctors oppose infant circumcision

18. mar. 2013 13.08 English

The circumcision of infants entails a risk of serious physical injury, or even death, and should be banned, according to 38 leading doctors.

http://knmg.artsennet.nl/Nieuws/Nieuwsarchief/Nieuwsbericht-1/International-physicians-protest-against-American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-policy-on-infant-male-circumcision.htm

 maart 2013

International physicians protest against American Academy of Pediatrics’ policy on infant male circumcision

Circumcision conflicts with children’s rights and doctors’ oath and can have serious long-term consequences, state an international group of 38 physicians from 16 European countries in Pediatrics today. They comment on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new policy on infant male circumcision.

There are no compelling health arguments in favor of circumcision, while it can have serious long-term urological, psychological and sexual consequences. And performing medically unwarranted circumcision of underage boys conflicts with good medical practice. Male infant circumcision conflicts with children’s rights and the doctors’ oath not to do harm. 

. Cultural Bias in the AAP’s 2012 Technical Report and Policy Statement on Male Circumcision. Pediatrics 2013 131 (4) (PDF)

Making it a taboo to compare male with female sexual mutilation is the biggest scandal of the controversy. In both instances the most sensitive and most erogenous zone of the human bod is amputated and severely damaged. In both instances, what counts primarily is the cutting of human sexuality. The imposition of control by the patriarchy.
 

Die Tabuisierung jeglichen Vergleichs von männlicher mit weiblicher Genitalverstümmelung ist der große Skandal der Debatte. In beiden Fällen wird der empfindsamste und erogenste Teil des menschlichen Körpers amputiert oder schwer beschädigt. In beiden Fällen geht es in erster Linie um die Beschneidung menschlicher Sexualität.

http://evidentist.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/beschneidung-ignoranz-und-sexismus/

 Die Skepsis der Pädiater
Unausgegoren, katastrophal - die Kritik der Pädiater am Gesetzentwurf zur Beschneidung ist eindeutig. Sie sehen die UN-Kinderrechtskonvention verletzt - und das Gesetz quasi schon zur Verhandlung in Karlsruhe. Aber die Kinderärzte haben einen Kompromissvorschlag.Von Raimund Schmid

http://www.aerztezeitung.de/politik_gesellschaft/gp_specials/beschneidung/article/824592/beschneidung-skepsis-paediater.html  

 Sunday, August 5, 2012

THE CIRCUMCISION DEBATE - LINKS AND COMMENTS

Here is my opening statement which I have reduced it to a kind of stub - a stub onto which one could add back on the entire controversy relating to Anti-Semitism, and how guilt distorts German ways of handling matters of that kind, and various defenses made of the practice for reasons of "inscription of the law onto the body, “the law”, and which is manifested in its multifariousness below. Towards the end there will be a section devoted to discussions that derive from the German yahootherapeuten group. Section "Yahoo". 

TABLE OF CONTENT
1= OVERVIEW
2= LETTER TO THE ETHIKRAT
 3=  MATERIAL COLLECTION
4= Original letter to the Ethik Rat
5=yahoo-therapeutengroup
material, in progress

=1=

ON CIRCUMCISION

On June 26 of this year a Judge in Cologne, Germany

http://www.lg-koeln.nrw.de/ Presse/Pressemitteilungen/26_ 06_2012_-_Beschneidung.pdf

condemned a German physician for  violating the German constitution’s guarantee of the inviolability of a person for having circumcised - it  was a four year old Muslim boy. But the judge did not pronounce a guilty verdict nor administer punishment since the physician was practicing within a tradition and was unaware of the conflict of those constitutional guarantees with those guaranteeing freedom of religion, in this instance the Abrahamic religious practices of Brit Milahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Brit_milah

in Judaic and the Islamic practice of Khitan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Khitan_(circumcision)

Thus ensued a conflict between the Jewish and Islamic religious in Germany and the German legal authorities that continues to this day.  The chief Israeli Rabbi went to Germany and asserted that the prohibition of the Brit Mila constituted a prohibition of the fundament of Jewish identity and German Jews therefore would have to leave the country. The Bundestag, the German parliament, responded quickly to calls from the two dominant parties, Christian and Social Democrats, to pass a resolution, endorsed by Chancellor Angele Merkel, in favor of an exception for the practice

 http://dipbt.bundestag.de/ dip21/btd/17/103/1710331.pdf

Yet the controversy  will not be resolved until that law has been studied by the German Ethic Council, if then.

Circumcision, the lopping off of a penis’s foreskin incises appr. 5,000 nerves; for the concentration of nerves at that region it is one of the most excruciatingly painful procedures if administered without anesthetic, as it is in the Jewish practice of the Prit Milah, which is celebrated on the 8^th day extra-uterine. The child is in no position to be consulted, no empathy of its pain can even be communicated for whatever trauma the procedure will induce. The child screams holy murder but is then coddled and attempts are made to reassure it. Islamic practice, which occurs anywhere between the 4^th and 12^th birthday is voluntary and circumcision, there called Khitan, is administered with anesthesia. Only puncturing of the eardrum, which has a higher concentration of nerves, is more painful. However, as I can testify, done under emergency conditions at age 8 and with advance warning from a kindly house physician, the shockingly extreme pain, is exceedingly brief though you remember it forever as the high point, the lightning strike of the pain continuum when consulted during later hospital procedures.

  Although those who have lost their foreskin eventually loose recollection of the procedure, it makes the infant fearful; other subsequent painful procedures, say inoculations, re-evoke the original trauma for many years. In a mature male, the trauma can be recovered under psychoanalysis; the lack of the foreskin, during adolescence, tends to suppress premature ejaculation; as a mature lover the lack will deprive the man of whatever pleasure 5,000 nerve cells can induce.

As a religious as distinct from a medical practice Brit Milah and Khitan, like other religious practices, has a rather dark past; it is the left-over of the original sacrifice of the first born son, replaced subsequently by his castration. It gives evidence of the Patriarchy’s fear of generational conflict. Some Jewish reform congregations merely practice a simulation of the Brit Milah, I myself have come up with the ingenious compromise solution of the “Mosquito Bite” – one drop of blood to commemorate the dark history while keeping the name- giving and celebration and compact with God and the formation of group identity intact in this homogenizing world.

The controversy persists to this day in various forum in Germany. Many resolutions by German psychologists, lawyers and medical personnel calling for the prohibition of involuntary circumcision have been addressed to the Bundestag

http://www.welt.de/newsticker/ news3/article108343689/Gegner- der-Beschneidung-von-Jungen- reichen-Petition-ein.html

http://www.beschneidung-von- jungen.de/home/ gesellschaftliche-aspekte-der- beschneidung/beschneidung-und- politik/petition-gegen- beschneidung-minderjaehriger. html

Warum wird jemand wie Professor Michael Wolffsohn nicht ueber andere Juedischen Ansichten befragt?,
http://analytic-comments.blogspot.com/2012/10/michael-wolffsohns-foreskin-of-heart.html
http://www.welt.de/print/die_welt/debatte/article108847257/Die-Vorhaut-des-Herzens.html
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/meinung/andere-meinung/gastkommentar-zur-beschneidungsdebatte-danke-deutschland/7160872.html

=2=

Liebe Professorin , sehr geehrter Ethik Rat.
der von Ihnen vorgeschlagene Kompromiss in der
Beschneidungs Angelegenheit scheint sich nicht
bewusst zu sein, dass auch trotz Anästhesie der Schnitt
ein Trauma hinterlässt. Die Jüdische Gemeinde hat
vor den Schmerz zu lindern, mit einem Tropfen was
uns in the USA als Manischevitz bekannt ist,
 also zeigt sie jedenfalls ein Mindesmass an Empathie,

http://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/article/view/id/13831

Ausgelassen aus ihren Überlegungen ist die Herkunft
der Beschneidung in den Abrahamischen Religionen,
von Opfer des erstgeborenem Sohns, zu dessen Kastration, bis zur der Beschneidung
 der Vorhaut, wobei nur ein Fetzen Haut samt 5000 Nerven daran glauben müssen.
Da es doch eine langsame Entwicklung in der Verminderung dieses brutalen  Vorgehens in der Geschichte gibt, kann man sich leicht eine weitere Verminderung vorstellen. Da das Brit Milah ein Grund für wahnsinnige anti-Semitische Voruteile gab [Freud fand, dass die Beschneidung im Unterbewussten, oder halb-bewussten DER Grund zum Anti-Semitismus - als Furcht, Castrationsangst -  überhaupt  bei seinen Patienten war] sollte sich das orthodoxe Rabbiniat auch diesen Tatbestand in Bezicht ziehen bei
den Überlegungen zu einer Kompromiss Lösung. Ausserdem wird man Jude durch

Geburt von einer Jüdischen Mutter; Reform Rabbiniate simulieren das Brit Milah!

Ein Gedankengang der mich besonders bei ihren Überlegungen aufgefallen ist was  Strafrechtler und Rechtsphilosoph Reinhard Merkel, der es zwar „bizarr“ nannte, wenn Religionsgemeinschaften eine Definitionsmacht über die Zulässigkeit von Körperverletzungen erhielten, wollte sich am Ende dem Argument beugen, dass es in Deutschland eine „weltweit singuläre Pflicht gegenüber allen jüdischen Belangen“ gebe. Er sagte, im Konflikt zwischen dem strafrechtlich unzulässigen körperlichen Eingriff und der Verpflichtung der deutschen Nation gegenüber dem Judentum entstehe ein „rechtspolitischer Notstand“.

  Führt man diesem Gedanken weiter, kommt man dort an, dass Deutschland nichts unternehmen sollte wenn Israel sich entchied eine "Endlösung" der Palestinier/ Bedouinen Problems durchzuführen, da
Deutschland selbst solch eine Schuld trägt. Also, ad absurdum. Eine schlechte Begründung, besonders von einem Strafrechtler, aber eine Begründung welche  zeigt was ich besonders bei diesen Überlegungen
 vermisse: die  wahrlich einzigartige Schuld, den die Deutsche Gesellschaft in den 20ger bis 40ziger Jahren des letzten Jahrhunderts auf sich genommen hat als sie Schritt für Schritt zu der Endlösung, der Shoah zuging ohne dass die Eliten, das Deutsche Rechtswesen, das Volk, seine Soldaten sich dagegen auflehnten und diesen einzigartige selbstzerstörerischen Ausbruchs des Hasses und des Neids verhinderten.    Ich fand es absolute korrekt, dass im
Historiker Streit, es zu dem Ergebnis kam der dieses Vorkommen nicht relativiert. Auf so eine Art hat der menschliche Hass sich nie vorher noch nachher manifestiert, was nur Menschen Menschen antun können.

Aber Überlegungen zu einer Schuld und der Versuch einer Wiedergutmachung ist kaum Grund oder Pflicht eine andere Art Schuld zu erlauben oder sich dafür von dem Orthodoxen Rabbiniat erpressen zu lassen. Schuld verdummt, sie wird / wurde immer von Eltern missbraucht. Es sollte vielleicht überlegt werden inwiefern Deutsche Schuld bei diesen Überlegungen verdummt.

=3=

Dieser
http://analytic-comments.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-circumcision-debate-links-and.html
Blog enthaelt eine reiche Material Sammlung zu dem Thema Beschneidung und wird taeglich  erfrisch..
=========================
P.S. Gerd Boettcher of therapeuten yahoo groups made a communication the other day via my analytic list, to which had had no access to except by theft or illegal misuse. I will reply to it separately and in a comment to the above blog. m.r.

The controversy, which has elicited sometimes heated discussions, also in psychoanalytic circles, has  barely has managed to make a dent on the news media in the U.S. Brief mention in the Washington Post; the German editor of Die Zeit and Neo-Con co-founder of The National Interest Josef Joffe in the Wall Street Journal seemed very wrought up

http://online.wsj.com/article/ SB1000087239639044334370457755 0854160191664.html?KEYWORDS= josef+joffe 

=4=

 1] RELEVANT BACKGROUND MATERIAL

Dear Member,

We unobtrusively inform you that the last couple of months many new articles appeared on our website.

Preview: The Dark Sides of Pedocircumcision

Cerebral Mirror Images

The Tyranny of Faiths

Abstract Theories Normality Test

Does Pedocircumcision Devalue Nobel Prize?

Foreskin Semantics

Psychosocial Effects of Circumcision according to the Bible

Sub-Races of Different Pleasure Completion

Circumcision Neuroses Provoke Anti-Semitism

Operative Racialism

Political vs Psychological Irresponsibility

Religious Irresponsibility

The Soft Genocide

Erogenous Sensitivity and Cultural Borders

Pedocircumcision vs Social Integration

Freudian Criminalization of Sexuality

The Religious Ethics of Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalytic Theory Eases Spreading of Pedocircumcision

The Circumcision Complex Disposes to Religious Obsessions

Religion is the Sanity of the Circumcised

Abstract Foreskin and Reasoning

Pedocircumcision and Abstract Monotheism

The Uninformed Wisdom of Freudianism

Islamic Super-orgasm

Eroticism in Judaic Paradise

Pedocircumcision to Paedophilia

Soft-skin Pluralism

Weakness of Christianity and Democracy

The Original Sin Neurosis

Democracy in Polytheism

Crimogenic Religiousness

Racialism in Judaism and Islam

Patriarchy, Polygyny and Pedocircumcision

Aggressiveness of Circumcising Religions

Legalization of Ethnic Neuroses

War of Minds

The Ethnic Science

The Jewish Conspiracy

The Irrationality of Democracy

Conservatism of Democracy

Crimogenic Beliefs: Reverse Ethnoreligious Discrimination

Unclear Moral Conscience of Democracy

What If All of This Was Known Before?

Best Regards:

The Circumcision Complex

Hier the you-tube of an Islamic Bris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VQyLvhd28o 

----------------------------------

Pressemitteilung
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Dr. Victoria Meinschäfer, 18.07.2012 11:37

Genitalbeschneidung bei Jungen

Die Beschneidung der Vorhaut (Zirkumzision) ist der älteste und am häufigsten durchgeführte operative Eingriff überhaupt. Prof. Dr. Matthias Franz, stellvertretender Direktor des Klinischen Instituts für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, warnt deutlich vor den Gefahren der meist religiös motivierten Operation: „Die Entfernung der Vorhaut im Säuglings- oder Kindesalter stellt ein Trauma dar und kann zu andauernden körperlichen, sexuellen oder psychischen Komplikationen und Leidenszuständen führen. Diese Problematik wird aus Respekt vor religiösen oder kulturellen Tabus und aus Angst vor möglichen Konflikten bislang aber vorwiegend in Fachkreisen diskutiert.“

Die Forschung zeigt, dass die Erfahrung elterlicher Gewalt während der Kindheit Brüche in der emotionalen Wahrnehmung und Empathiefähigkeit des später erwachsenen Kindes bewirkt. In der Kindheit erfahrene Traumata werden verinnerlicht und oft später auch selber wiederholt. Kollektiv rituell vermittelte traumatische kindliche Erfahrungen führen daher zu Empathiebrüchen. Die Gruppe der Beschnittenen reagiert mit Abwehr, d.h. sie verleugnet die erlittenen Schmerzen. Dadurch wird die Einfühlung in das Erleben der nächsten Opfer desselben Rituals beeinträchtigt: Es kann und darf nicht schlecht gewesen sein, was die Eltern damals mit mir gemacht haben. Deshalb tue ich es auch. Eine derartige Erfahrung führt bei den betroffenen Jungen meist zu einer Fortsetzung der rituellen Praxis. Die erwachsenen Eltern leugnen aus eigenen Abwehrbedürfnissen die erlittene Gewalt, deshalb kann das emotionale Erleben des zu beschneidenden Kindes von den handelnden Erwachsenen nicht empathisch erfasst werden. So entsteht eine Täter-Opfer-Kette, die sich über viele Generationen hinweg etablieren kann. Franz: „Eine deutsche Variante, noch gar nicht so lange her: Eine ordentliche Tracht Prügel hat noch niemandem geschadet.“

Unterschieden werden muss zwischen den Auswirkungen der Beschneidung im Säuglingsalter, wie es das Judentum fordert, und der im Kindesalter, die im Islam üblich ist.
Jüdische Jungen, die laut Bibel am achten Tag zu beschneiden sind, erleiden bei der Zirkumzision Schmerzen, die noch nach einem Jahr im Körpergedächtnis nachweisbar sind als überschießende Schmerzreaktionen auf Impfungen. Muslimische Jungen werden dagegen meist im Alter von fünf bis acht Jahren beschnitten. Franz: „Dass die Beschneidung des Jungen auf dem Höhepunkt der infantilen Sexualentwicklung besondere Entwicklungsrisiken mit sich bringen kann, erscheint zumindest plausibel. Die Beschneidung kann von Jungen, die sich in dieser Phase zunehmend auf ihre Genitalität zentriert erleben, wie eine elterlich herbeigeführte, schwere Sanktion oder Kastrationsdrohung erlebt werden. Der schmerzlich-traumatische Eingriff erfolgt faktisch, bewusst wahrnehmbar und unter direktem Zugriff auf den libidinös und narzisstisch hoch besetzten Genitalbereich. Der ängstigende Gewaltaspekt unterliegt dabei einer bemerkenswerten Verleugnung durch die beteiligten Erwachsenen. Er wird rationalisiert als festlich und forciert freudig gestalteter Männlichkeitsritus. Der kleine Junge, der ja in keiner Weise an der Schwelle zum Mannesalter steht, wird mit hypermaskulinen Attributen und großen Geschenken zum Mann erklärt, eigentlich aber von Erwachsenen manipuliert.“

Aus psychoanalytischer Sicht stellt die Zirkumzision bei fünf- bis achtjährigen Jungen eine kollektive sexualtraumatische Erfahrung dar. Diese kann in besonders patriarchalisch geprägten Kulturen eine der Ursachen für eine starke Kontrolle der Sexualität und der Frau sein. So kann das Trauma zur Stabilisierung von Machtstrukturen führen. Franz: „Aus psychoanalytischer Sicht resultiert aus dieser definitiven Klarstellung hierarchischer Bezüge eine durch starke Ängste (vor dem ultimativen Schnitt) fundierte patriarchalische Loyalität.“
Sowohl Juden als auch Muslime betrachten die Beschneidung als Zeichen ihrer exklusiven Zugehörigkeit zu Gott. Während die Beschneidung im Alten Testament ausdrücklich gefordert wird („Das aber ist mein Bund, den ihr halten sollt zwischen mir und euch… eure Vorhaut sollt ihr beschneiden... Jedes Knäblein, wenn’s acht Tage alt ist, sollt ihr beschneiden bei euren Nachkommen“) ist sie im Islam nicht durch den Koran vorgegeben. Sie ist allerdings ein fester Bestandteil der Ritualkultur. Der Prophet Mohamed wurde nach der Überlieferung vorhautlos geboren, denen, die diesem Vorbild folgen, werden Belohnungen in Aussicht gestellt.
Das Ritual der Beschneidung selbst stammt noch aus vorgeschichtlicher Zeit. Franz: „Es könnte in Jägerkulturen als männlicher Initiationsritus der sozialen Aggressionskontrolle gedient haben. Die mit der Erlaubnis zur Jagd erforderliche Überwindung der Tötungshemmung bedingt eine Aggressionsfreisetzung, vor der die Bezugsgruppe geschützt werden muss. Die Kontrolle aggressiver (und sexueller) Impulse innerhalb der Gruppe könnte durch die rituelle Kastrationsandrohung erleichtert worden sein, wenn sich die kindlich erlittenen Ängste und Schmerzen an das Verbot von Grenzüberschreitungen gegenüber Gruppenmitgliedern knüpften. Durch ein demonstratives, öffentlich wiederholtes Ritual mit Drohpotenzial wird ein Phantasieraum erschlossen, in dem Kastration als Strafe vielleicht doch möglich ist. Die rigide patriarchalisch geprägte Loyalität, die durch dieses Ritual erzeugt wurde, diente einerseits also wohl der sozialen Triebkontrolle, andererseits der Herausbildung einer Gruppenidentität.“
Zudem kann die Beschneidung auch der von der Mutter trennenden Initiation zum Mann einschneidenden Ausdruck verleihen: Auf Grund der Anatomie kann die männliche Vorhaut in den archaischen Schichten des Unterbewusstseins als „weiblich“ imaginiert werden, ihre Entfernung trennt den Jungen dann endgültig von der Mutter.

Für die Zukunft rechnet Prof. Franz mit vermehrten Schadensersatzprozessen beschnittener Männer, nicht nur gegen die Ärzte, sondern möglicherweise auch gegen die Eltern.

Die gesamte Pressemitteilung können Sie im WWW abrufen unter:
http://idw-online.de/de/news488890

Kontaktdaten zum Absender der Pressemitteilung stehen unter:
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf

idw - Informationsdienst Wissenschaft e. V.
http://idw-online.de
service@idw-online.de

 ===========================

Zur freundlichen Kenntnisnahme und mit besten Kolleg. Grüßen

Dipl. Psych. Michael B. Flöter

auch unter dem Link: http://www.circumcision.org/studies.htm

Medical Studies on Circumcision

Circumcision is Associated with Adult Difficulty in Identifying and Expressing Feelings

This preliminary study investigates what role early trauma might have in alexithymia (difficulty in identifying and expressing feelings) acquisition for adults by controlling for male circumcision. Three hundred self-selected men were administered the Toronto Twenty-Item Alexithymia Scale checklist and a personal history questionnaire. The circumcised men had age-adjusted alexithymia scores 19.9 percent higher than the intact men; were 1.57 times more likely to have high alexithymia scores; were 2.30 times less likely to have low alexithymia scores; had higher prevalence of two of the three alexithymia factors (difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings); and were 4.53 times more likely to use an erectile dysfunction drug. Alexithymia in this population of adult men is statistically significant for having experienced circumcision trauma and for erectile dysfunction drug use. (See link to article on our home page.)

Bollinger, D. and Van Howe, R. , "Alexithymia and Circumcision Trauma: A Preliminary Investigation," International Journal of Men's Health (2011);184-195.

Circumcision Associated with Sexual Difficulties in Men and Women

A new national survey in Denmark, where about 5% of men are circumcised, examined associations of circumcision with a range of sexual measures in both sexes. Circumcised men were more likely to report frequent orgasm difficulties, and women with circumcised spouses more often reported incomplete sexual needs fulfillment and frequent sexual function difficulties overall, notably orgasm difficulties, and painful sexual intercourse.  

Frisch, M., Lindholm, M., and Gr�nb�k, M., "Male Circumcision and Sexual Function in Men and Women: A Survey-based, Cross-sectional Study in Denmark," International Journal of Epidemiology (2011);1�15.

Circumcision is Associated with Premature Ejaculation

Premature ejaculation (PE) is common. However, it has been underreported and undertreated. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of PE and to investigate possible associated factors of PE. This cross-sectional study was conducted at a primary care clinic over a 3-month period in 2008. Men aged 18-70 years attending the clinic were recruited, and they completed self-administered questionnaires. A total of 207 men were recruited with a response rate of 93.2%. Their mean age was 46.0 years. The prevalence of PE was 40.6%. No significant association was found between age and PE. Multivariate analysis showed that erectile dysfunction, circumcision, and sexual intercourse =5 times in 4 weeks were predictors of PE. These associations need further confirmation.

Tang, W. and Khoo, E. "Prevalence and Correlates of Premature Ejaculation in a Primary Care Setting: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study," Journal of Sexual Medicine (2011) Apr 14.

NOTE: There have been numerous articles in American media about claims that circumcision prevents HIV transmission. No mainstream media article has reported on an opposing view, as described in the findings of the following five medical articles.

Claim of Circumcision Benefit is Overstated and Premature

Further research is required to assess the feasibility, desirability and cost-effectiveness of circumcision to reduce the acquisition of HIV. This paper endorses the need for such research and suggests that, in its absence, it is premature to promote circumcision as a reliable strategy for combating HIV. Since articles in leading medical journals as well as the popular press continue to do so, scientific researchers should think carefully about how their conclusions may be translated both to policy makers and to a more general audience. The importance of addressing ethico-legal concerns that such trials may raise is highlighted. The understandable haste to find a solution to the HIV pandemic means that the promise offered by preliminary and specific research studies may be overstated. This may mean that ethical concerns are marginalized. Such haste may also obscure the need to be attentive to local cultural sensitivities, which vary from one African region to another, in formulating policy concerning circumcision.

Fox, M. and Thomson, M., "HIV/AIDS and Circumcision : Lost in Translation," Journal of Medical Ethics 36 (2010):798-801.

Circumcision/HIV Claims are Based on Insufficient Evidence

An article endorsed by thirty-two professionals questions the results of three highly publicized African circumcision studies. The studies claim that circumcision reduces HIV transmission, and they are being used to promote circumcisions. Substantial evidence in this article refutes the claim of the studies.

Examples in the article include the following:

1. Circumcision is associated with increased transmission of HIV to women.

2. Conditions for the studies were unlike conditions found in real-world settings.

3. Other studies show that male circumcision is not associated with reduced HIV transmission.

4. The U.S. has a high rate of HIV infection and a high rate of circumcision. Other countries have low rates of circumcision and low rates of HIV infection.

5. Condoms are 95 times more cost effective in preventing HIV transmission.

6. Circumcision removes healthy, functioning, unique tissue, raising ethical considerations.

Green, L. et al., "Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Insufficient Evidence and Neglected External Validity," American Journal of Preventive Medicine 39 (2010): 479-82.

In National Survey Circumcision Had No Protective Effect

A survey of South African men showed that circumcision had no protective effect in the prevention of HIV transmission. This is a concern, and has implications for the possible adoption of mass male circumcision strategy both as a public health policy and an HIV prevention strategy.

Connolly, C. et al., South African Medical Journal 98(2008): 789-794.

Circumcision is Not Cost Effective

The findings suggest that behavior change programs are more efficient and cost effective than circumcision. Providing free condoms is estimated to be significantly less costly, more effective in comparison to circumcising, and at least 95 times more cost effective at stopping the spread of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, condom usage provides protection for women as well as men. This is significant in an area where almost 61% of adults living with AIDS are women.

McAllister, R. et al., "The Cost to Circumcise Africa," American Journal of Men's Health 7(2008): 307-316.

Circumcision/HIV Have Incomplete Evaluation

The push to institute mass circumcision in Africa, following the three randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted in Africa, is based on an incomplete evaluation of real-world preventive effects over the long-term � effects that may be quite different outside the research setting and circumstances, with their access to resources, sanitary standards and intensive counseling. Moreover, proposals for mass circumcision lack a thorough and objective consideration of costs in relation to hoped-for benefits. No field-test has been performed to evaluate the effectiveness, complications, personnel requirements, costs and practicality of proposed approaches in real-life conditions. These are the classic distinctions between efficacy and effectiveness trials, and between internal validity and external validity.

Campaigns to promote safe-sex behaviors have been shown to accomplish a high rate of infection reduction, without the surgical risks and complications of circumcision, and at a much lower cost. For the health community to rush to recommend a program based on incomplete evidence is both premature and ill-advised. It misleads the public by promoting false hope from uncertain conclusions and might ultimately aggravate the problem by altering people�s behavioral patterns and exposing them and their partners to new or expanded risks. Given these problems, circumcision of adults, and especially of children, by coercion or by false hope, raises human rights concerns.

Green, L. et al., "Male Circumcision is Not the HIV �Vaccine� We Have Been Waiting For!" Future Medicine 2 (2008): 193-199, DOI 10.2217/17469600.2.3.193.

Circumcision Decreases Sexual Pleasure

A questionnaire was used to study the sexuality of men circumcised as adults compared to uncircumcised men, and to compare their sex lives before and after circumcision. The study included 373 sexually active men, of whom 255 were circumcised and 118 were not. Of the 255 circumcised men, 138 had been sexually active before circumcision, and all were circumcised at >20 years of age. Masturbatory pleasure decreased after circumcision in 48% of the respondents, while 8% reported increased pleasure. Masturbatory difficulty increased after circumcision in 63% of the respondents but was easier in 37%. About 6% answered that their sex lives improved, while 20% reported a worse sex life after circumcision. There was a decrease in masturbatory pleasure and sexual enjoyment after circumcision, indicating that adult circumcision adversely affects sexual function in many men, possibly because of complications of the surgery and a loss of nerve endings.

Kim, D. and Pang, M., "The Effect of Male Circumcision on Sexuality," BJU International 99 (2007): 619-22.

Circumcision Removes the Most Sensitive Parts of the Penis

A sensitivity study of the adult penis in circumcised and uncircumcised men shows that the uncircumcised penis is significantly more sensitive. The most sensitive location on the circumcised penis is the circumcision scar on the ventral surface. Five locations on the uncircumcised penis that are routinely removed at circumcision are significantly more sensitive than the most sensitive location on the circumcised penis.

In addition, the glans (head) of the circumcised penis is less sensitive to fine touch than the glans of the uncircumcised penis. The tip of the foreskin is the most sensitive region of the uncircumcised penis, and it is significantly more sensitive than the most sensitive area of the circumcised penis. Circumcision removes the most sensitive parts of the penis.

This study presents the first extensive testing of fine touch pressure thresholds of the adult penis. The monofiliment testing instruments are calibrated and have been used to test female genital sensitivity.

Sorrells, M. et al., �Fine-Touch Pressure Thresholds in the Adult Penis,� BJU International 99 (2007): 864-869.

Circumcision Policy Influenced by Psychosocial Factors

The debate about the advisability of circumcision in English-speaking countries typically has focused on potential health factors. The position statements of committees from national medical organisations are expected to be evidence-based; however, the contentiousness of the ongoing debate suggests that other factors are involved. Various potential factors related to psychology, sociology, religion, and culture may also underlie policy decisions. These factors could affect the values and attitudes of medical committee members, the process of evaluating the medical literature, and the medical literature itself. Although medical professionals highly value rationality, it can be difficult to conduct a rational and objective evaluation of an emotional and controversial topic such as circumcision. A negotiated compromise between polarized committee factions could introduce additional psychosocial factors. These possibilities are speculative, not conclusive. It is recommended that an open discussion of psychosocial factors take place and that the potential biases of committee members be recognized.

Goldman, R., �Circumcision Policy: A Psychosocial Perspective,� Paediatrics & Child Health 9 (2004): 630-633.

Circumcision is Not Good Health Policy

A cost-utility analysis, based on published data from multiple observational studies, comparing boys circumcised at birth and those not circumcised was undertaken using the Quality of Well-being Scale, a Markov analysis, the standard reference case, and a societal perspective. Neonatal circumcision increased incremental costs by $828.42 per patient and resulted in an incremental 15.30 well-years lost per 1000 males. If neonatal circumcision was cost-free, pain-free, and had no immediate complications, it was still more costly than not circumcising. Using sensitivity analysis, it was impossible to arrange a scenario that made neonatal circumcision cost-effective. Neonatal circumcision is not good health policy, and support for it as a medical procedure cannot be justified financially or medically.

Van Howe, R., �A Cost-Utility Analysis of Neonatal Circumcision,� Medical Decision Making 24 (2004):584-601.

Pain, Trauma, Sexual, and Psychological Effects of Circumcision

Infant male circumcision continues despite growing questions about its medical justification. As usually performed without analgesia or anaesthetic, circumcision is observably painful. It is likely that genital cutting has physical, sexual and psychological consequences, too. Some studies link involuntary male circumcision with a range of negative emotions and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some circumcised men have described their current feelings in the language of violation, torture, mutilation and sexual assault. In view of the acute as well as long-term risks from circumcision and the legal liabilities that might arise, it is timely for health professionals and scientists to re-examine the evidence on this issue and participate in the debate about the advisability of this surgical procedure on unconsenting minors.

Boyle G. et al., "Male Circumcision: Pain, Trauma and Psychosexual Sequelae," Journal of Health Psychology (2002): 329-343.

Circumcision Results in Significant Loss of Erogenous Tissue

A report published in the British Journal of Urology assessed the type and amount of tissue missing from the adult circumcised penis by examining adult foreskins obtained at autopsy. Investigators found that circumcision removes about one-half of the erogenous tissue on the penile shaft. The foreskin, according to the study, protects the head of the penis and is comprised of unique zones with several kinds of specialized nerves that are important to optimum sexual sensitivity.

Taylor, J. et al., "The Prepuce: Specialized Mucosa of the Penis and Its Loss to Circumcision," BJU 77 (1996): 291�295.

Circumcision Affects Sexual Behavior

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that circumcision provided no significant prophylactic benefit and that circumcised men were more likely to engage in various sexual practices. Specifically, circumcised men were significantly more likely to masturbate and to participate in heterosexual oral sex than uncircumcised men.

Laumann, E. et al., "Circumcision in the U.S.: Prevalence, Prophylactic Effects, and Sexual Practice," JAMA 277 (1997): 1052�1057.

Researchers Demonstrate Traumatic Effects of Circumcision

A team of Canadian researchers produced new evidence that circumcision has long-lasting traumatic effects. An article published in the international medical journal The Lancet reported the effect of infant circumcision on pain response during subsequent routine vaccination. The researchers tested 87 infants at 4 months or 6 months of age. The boys who had been circumcised were more sensitive to pain than the uncircumcised boys. Differences between groups were significant regarding facial action, crying time, and assessments of pain.

The authors believe that "neonatal circumcision may induce long-lasting changes in infant pain behavior because of alterations in the infant�s central neural processing of painful stimuli." They also write that "the long-term consequences of surgery done without anaesthesia are likely to include post-traumatic stress as well as pain. It is therefore possible that the greater vaccination response in the infants circumcised without anaesthesia may represent an infant analogue of a post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by a traumatic and painful event and re-experienced under similar circumstances of pain during vaccination."

Taddio, A. et al., "Effect of Neonatal Circumcision on Pain Response during Subsequent Routine Vaccination," The Lancet 349 (1997): 599�603.

Circumcision Study Halted Due to Trauma

Researchers found circumcision so traumatic that they ended the study early rather than subject any more infants to the operation without anesthesia. Those infants circumcised without anesthesia experienced not only severe pain, but also an increased risk of choking and difficulty breathing. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Up to 96% of infants in some areas of the United States receive no anesthesia during circumcision. No anesthetic currently in use for circumcisions is effective during the most painful parts of the procedure.

Lander, J. et al., "Comparison of Ring Block, Dorsal Penile Nerve Block, and Topical Anesthesia for Neonatal Circumcision," JAMA 278 (1997): 2157�2162.

Circumcised Penis Requires More Care in Young Boys

The circumcised penis requires more care than the natural penis during the first three years of life, according to a report in the British Journal of Urology. The clinical findings of an American pediatrician showed that circumcised boys were significantly more likely to have skin adhesions, trapped debris, irritated urinary opening, and inflammation of the glans (head of the penis) than were boys with a foreskin. Furthermore, because there are large variations of appearance in circumcised boys, circumcision for cosmetic reasons should be discouraged.

Van Howe, R., "Variability in Penile Appearance and Penile Findings: A Prospective Study," BJU 80 (1997): 776�782.

Poll of Circumcised Men Reveals Harm

A poll of circumcised men published in the British Journal of Urology describes adverse outcomes on men�s health and well-being. Findings showed wide-ranging physical, sexual, and psychological consequences. Some respondents reported prominent scarring and excessive skin loss. Sexual consequences included progressive loss of sensitivity and sexual dysfunction. Emotional distress followed the realization that they were missing a functioning part of their penis. Low-self esteem, resentment, avoidance of intimacy, and depression were also noted.

Hammond, T., "A Preliminary Poll of Men Circumcised in Infancy or Childhood," BJU 83 (1999): suppl. 1: 85�92

Psychological Effects of Circumcision Studied

An article titled "The Psychological Impact of Circumcision" reports that circumcision results in behavioral changes in infants and long-term unrecognized psychological effects on men. The piece reviews the medical literature on infants� responses to circumcision and concludes, "there is strong evidence that circumcision is overwhelmingly painful and traumatic." The article notes that infants exhibit behavioral changes after circumcision, and some men have strong feelings of anger, shame, distrust, and grief about having been circumcised. In addition, circumcision has been shown to disrupt the mother-infant bond, and some mothers report significant distress after allowing their son to be circumcised. Psychological factors perpetuate circumcision. According to the author, "defending circumcision requires minimizing or dismissing the harm and producing overstated medical claims about protection from future harm. The ongoing denial requires the acceptance of false beliefs and misunderstanding of facts. These psychological factors affect professionals, members of religious groups, and parents involved in the practice."

Expressions from circumcised men are generally lacking because most circumcised men do not understand what circumcision is, emotional repression keeps feelings from awareness, or men may be aware of these feelings but afraid of disclosure.

Goldman, R., "The Psychological Impact of Circumcision," BJU 83 (1999): suppl. 1: 93�102

Serious Consequences of Circumcision Trauma in Adult Men Clinically Observed

Using four case examples that are typical among his clients, a practicing psychiatrist presents clinical findings regarding the serious and sometimes disabling long-term somatic, emotional, and psychological consequences of infant circumcision in adult men. These consequences resemble complex post-traumatic stress disorder and emerge during psychotherapy focused on the resolution of perinatal and developmental trauma. Adult symptoms associated with circumcision trauma include shyness, anger, fear, powerlessness, distrust, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, and sexual shame. Long-term psychotherapy dealing with early trauma resolution appears to be effective in healing these consequences.

Rhinehart, J., "Neonatal Circumcision Revistited," Transactional Analysis Journal 29 (1999): 215-221

Anatomy and Function of the Foreskin Documented

A new article describes the foreskin (prepuce) as an integral, normal part of the genitals of mammals. It is specialized, protective, erogenous tissue. A description of the complex nerve structure of the penis explains why anesthetics provide incomplete pain relief during circumcision. Cutting off the foreskin removes many fine-touch receptors from the penis and results in thickening and desensitization of the glans outer layer. The complex anatomy and function of the foreskin dictate that circumcision should be avoided or deferred until the person can make an informed decision as an adult.

Cold, C. and Taylor, J., "The Prepuce," BJU 83 (1999): suppl. 1: 34�44.

Male Circumcision Affects Female Sexual Enjoyment

A survey of women who have had sexual experience with circumcised and anatomically complete partners showed that the anatomically complete penis was preferred over the circumcised penis. Without the foreskin to provide a movable sleeve of skin, intercourse with a circumcised penis resulted in female discomfort from increased friction, abrasion, and loss of natural secretions. Respondents overwhelmingly concurred that the mechanics of coitus were different for the two groups of men. Unaltered men tended to thrust more gently with shorter strokes.

O�Hara, K. and O�Hara, J., "The Effect of Male Circumcision on the Sexual Enjoyment of the Female Partner," BJU 83 (1999): suppl. 1: 79�84

Male Circumcision and Psychosexual Effects Investigated

Infant male circumcision continues despite growing questions about its medical justification. As usually performed without analgesia or anesthetic, circumcision is observably painful. It is likely that genital cutting has physical, sexual, and psychological consequences, too. Some studies link involuntary male circumcision with a range of negative emotions and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some circumcised men have described their current feelings in the language of violation, torture, mutilation, and sexual assault. In view of the acute as well as long-term risks from circumcision and the legal liabilities that might arise, it is timely for health professionals and scientists to re-examine the evidence on this issue and participate in the debate about the advisability of this surgical procedure on unconsenting minors.

Boyle, G., Goldman, R., Svoboda, J.S., and Fernandez, E., "Male Circumcision: Pain, Trauma, and Psychosexual Sequelae," Journal of Health Psychology 7 (2002): 329-343.

Surveys Reveal Adverse Sexual and Psychological Effects of Circumcision

A survey of the 35 female and 42 gay sexual partners of circumcised and genitally intact men, and a separate survey of 53 circumcised and genitally intact men, and a separate survey of 30 genitally intact men themselves indicated that circumcised men experienced significantly reduced sexual sensation along with associated long-lasting negative emotional consequences.

Boyle, G. and Bensley, G., "Adverse Sexual and Psychological Effects of Male Infant Circumcision,". Psychological Reports 88 (2001): 1105-1106.

Foreskin Reduces the Force Required for Penetration and Increases Comfort

Masters and Johnson observed that the foreskin unrolled with intercourse. However, they overlooked a prior observation that intromission (i.e., penetration) was thereby made easier. To evaluate this observation an artificial introitus was mounted on scales. Repeated measurements showed a 10-fold reduction of force on entry with an initially unretracted foreskin as compared to entry with a retracted foreskin. For the foreskin to reduce the force required it must cover most of the glans when the penis is erect.

Taves, D., "The Intromission Function of the Foreskin," Med Hypotheses 59 (2002): 180.

Survey of Men Circumcised as Adults Shows Mixed Results

Men circumcised as adults were surveyed to assess erectile function, penile sensitivity, sexual activity and overall satisfaction. Over 80% of these men were circumcised to treat a medical problem. The response rate was 44% among potential responders. Mean age of responders was 42 years at circumcision and 46 years at survey. Adult circumcision appears to result in worsened erectile function, decreased penile sensitivity, no change in sexual activity, and improved satisfaction. Of the men 50% reported benefits and 38% reported harm. Overall, 62% of men were satisfied with having been circumcised. Note: Results may be affected by the fact that there was no sample of normal, healthy, genitally intact men for comparison.

Fink, K., Carson, C., DeVellis, R., "Adult Circumcision Outcomes Study: Effect on Erectile Function, Penile Sensitivity, Sexual Activity and Satisfaction," J Urol 167 (2002): 2113-2116.

Survey Finds Circumcision Contributes to Vaginal Dryness

The impact of male circumcision on vaginal dryness during coitus was investigated. We conducted a survey of 35 female sexual partners aged 18 to 69 years who had experienced sexual intercourse with both circumcised and genitally intact men. Women reported they were significantly more likely to have experienced vaginal dryness during intercourse with circumcised than with genitally intact men.

Bensley, G. and Boyle, G., "Effects of Male Circumcision on Female Arousal and Orgasm," N Z Med J 116 (2003): 595-596.

Early Adverse Experiences May Lead to Abnormal Brain Development and Behavior

Self-destructive behavior in current society promotes a search for psychobiological factors underlying this epidemic. The brain of the newborn infant is particularly vulnerability to early adverse experiences, leading to abnormal development and behavior. Although several investigations have correlated newborn complications with abnormal adult behavior, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains rudimentary. Models of early experience, such as repetitive pain, sepsis, or maternal separation in rodents and other species have noted multiple alterations in the adult brain, correlated with specific behavioral types depending on the timing and nature of the adverse experience. The mechanisms mediating such changes in the newborn brain have remained largely unexplored. Maternal separation, sensory isolation (understimulation), and exposure to extreme or repetitive pain (overstimulation) may cause altered brain development. (Circumcision is described as an intervention with long-term neurobehavioral effects.) These changes promote two distinct behavioral types characterized by increased anxiety, altered pain sensitivity, stress disorders, hyperactivity/attention deficit disorder, leading to impaired social skills and patterns of self-destructive behavior. The clinical importance of these mechanisms lies in the prevention of early adverse experiences and effective treatment of newborn pain and stress.

Anand, K. and Scalzo, F., "Can Adverse Neonatal Experiences Alter Brain Development and Subsequent Behavior? Biol Neonate 77 (2000): 69-82

Note: CRC disapproves of animal studies that involve inflicting pain.

Am 18.07.2012 um 12:54 schrieb bbpp:
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Auch DIE ZEIT meldet sich zu dem Thema! Weiterverbreitet
durch
 http://www.presseurop.eu/de/content/article/2381681-warum-beschneidung-wehtut
Also, die Diskussion, ausgelöst durch das Kölner Urteil, entfaltet den WUNDEN SCHNITT-PUNKT der verschiedenen Interessen mit seltener Offen und Vielfältigkeit!!
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Offener Brief zur Beschneidung„Religionsfreiheit kann kein Freibrief für Gewalt sein“

21.07.2012 · In der Beschneidungsdebatte appellieren mehr als 100 Mediziner und Juristen an Bundesregierung undBundestag, die Kinder stärker zu schützen. Hier ist der volle Brief.

Artikel

Lesermeinungen (23)

http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/offener-brief-zur-beschneidung-religionsfreiheit-kann-kein-freibrief-fuer-gewalt-sein-11827590.html

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Anschauliches und Hörbares zum Thema "Beschneidung"

http://vimeo.com/22940047

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Zitat aus der Homepage der DPtV:

Diskussion um Beschneidung von Jungen

24.07.12

Brief des Bundesvorsitzenden Dieter Best an die Bundesregierung

In dem Brief schließt sich die DPtV, vertreten durch den Bundesvorsitzenden Dieter Best,
der Bitte an, keine gesetzliche Lösung ohne eine gründliche Sichtung
der Forschungsergebnisse über mögliche somatische und psychische Folgen der Beschneidung von Jungen zu treffen.

Vollständiger Brief

Literaturhinweise
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Mit dem Credo "Niemand hat das Recht zu gehorchen" lehnte sie - Hannah Ahrndt alle Rückgriffe auf religiöse Dogmen zur Begründung von Gewissen und Moral ab, weil sie zutiefst davon überzeugt war, dass die auf solchen Wegen erzeugten Werte manipulierbar sind. In religiös organisierten Systemen kann jeder Moralkodex beliebig umgedeutet werden; wogegen die Vorstellung einer gemeinschaftlichen Ethik immer wieder neu überdacht und ausgehandelt werden müsse.

http://derstandard.at/1343743502670/Kein-Anlass-fuer-religioese-Erpressung

http://www.cicero.de/salon/toleranz-gehoert-nicht-zu-deutschland-beschneidungsurteil/49859?seite=3

 The Cologne judgment has also sparked a fine debate 

http://www.welt.de/print/die_welt/debatte/article108327689/Stellt-euch-der-Debatte.html

also in psycho-analytic and medical circles

http://www.circumcision.org/studies.htm

http://idw-online.de/de/news488890 

The PSYCHIC trauma  that circumcision entails consigns the practice to the domain of the atavistic  An ethnic or religious group that after however many of thousand years cannot come up with a better unifying practice must be regarded as forever benighted. Like female circumcision, male circumcision exists not so much to cement a community, but as a patriarchal practice, to  keep the sons and daughters in line, and, not so incidentally, eliminate a great deal of sexual pleasure. That is scarcely "Kuechen Psychologie"!  A number of matters are are being confused here: Inoculations can be administered painlessly - a mosquito bite is not comparable with the narcissistic and fundamental Oedipal trauma that is circumcision. Usage, custom could allow all sorts of other entirely atavistic traditions, no? Headhunters anyone? if someone wishes to argue the matter from that angle. To introduce the notion of intolerance into this discussion, also, is not pertinent to the issue, as well as contradictory, since a child if he wishes could decide to be circumcised, say, at the time of Bar Mitzvah, or equivalent Islam rite. Actually, the elimination of the practice of circumcision would also go some ways toward abating irrational forms of anti-Semitism, both Judaism and Islam being Semitic religions. That some of the Religious will be narcissistically mortified once one of their practices is prohibited - all I can say: EDUCATE yourselves, empathize with the child and the trauma it suffers so that you THE BELIEVER can regard its continuance as sacred! Or: get over it!http://www.facebook.com/mike.roloff1?ref=name

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Öffentliche Sitzung des Ethikrates zum Thema Beschneidung im August

Pressemitteilung Deutscher Ethikrat, Ulrike Florian, 27.07.2012 10:34

Öffentliche Sitzung des Ethikrates zum Thema Beschneidung im August

Zudem richtet der Ethikrat eine Arbeitsgruppe zum Thema Biosicherheit und Forschungsfreiheit ein und beschließt Thema der Jahrestagung 2013.

Am 23. August 2012 wird sich der Ethikrat im Rahmen einer öffentlichen Plenarsitzung mit dem aktuell diskutierten Thema der Beschneidung von minderjährigen Jungen aus religiösen Gründen beschäftigen. Die Ratsmitglieder Peter Dabrock,Wolfram Höfling, Ilhan Ilkilic, Leo Latasch und Reinhard Merkel werden in Impulsreferaten strafrechtliche, religiös-kulturelle, medizinische und ethische Aspekte der Beschneidung in den Blick nehmen und im Plenum zur Diskussion stellen.

Darüber hinaus wird der Ethikrat im Auftrag der Bundesregierung eine Stellungnahme zum Thema „Biosicherheit und Forschungsfreiheit – Forschungsförderung und Umgang mit Forschungsergebnissen“ erarbeiten. Hintergrund dieses Auftrags sind Forschungen in den USA und den Niederlanden, bei denen Grippeviren erzeugt wurden, die im Vergleich zu ihren Wildformen leichter zwischen Säugetieren übertragbar sind. Im Verlauf seiner gestrigen Plenarsitzung hat der Ethikrat beschlossen, eine Arbeitsgruppe zu diesem Thema einzurichten, und die nächsten Arbeitsschritte festgelegt.

Im Mittelpunkt der Jahrestagung 2013 wird die Forschung am Menschen, vor allem mit Blick auf Fragen des Probanden- und Patientenschutzes im globalen Kontext, stehen.

Weitere Informationen unter http://www.ethikrat.org/.
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Herr Josef Joffe von DIE ZEIT meldet sich zu Worte in der Beschneidungsangelegehenheit, im WALL STREET JOURNAL, dem nach zu urteilen sind die Neo-Cons fuer die Beschneidung und ich fuer die Abschneidung der Neo-Cons!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443343704577550854160191664.html?KEYWORDS=josef+joffe
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http://vimeo.com/22940047

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Die Juedische Allgemeine berichtet von der Aufregung ueber

die Beschneidungs Debatte in ihrer Gemeinde. 

http://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/article/view/id/13626 

http://derstandard.at/1343743502670/Kein-Anlass-fuer-religioese-Erpressung

und eine laufende grosse Diskussion 

und auch 

http://www.cicero.de/salon/toleranz-gehoert-nicht-zu-deutschland-beschneidungsurteil/49859?seite=3

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When  got wind of the impending Ethik Council meeting I initially contacted Frau Dr. Woopen of the Ethic Council

=4=

Liebe geehrte Frau Dr. Woopen,

Ich wollte Sie, als Leiterin des Ethikrates,

http://www.ethikrat.org/ 

http://geschichte-ethik.uk-koeln.de/forschungsstelle-ethik/mitarbeiter 

 aufmerksam machen darauf dass auch
bei der hauptsächlich Deutschen von Dr. Gerd Boettcher 

http://onlinestreet.de/152663-berliner-blaetter-fuer-psychoanalyse-und-psychotherapie-gerd-boettcher 

geleiteten psychotherapeuten@yahoogroups.de
es eine kontuierlich blühende Diskussion über das Thema Beschneidung gibt, in dem sich das gros der Mitglieder, aber auch nicht alle, gegen den Brauch des Bris wenden. 

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=5=

yahootherapeuten groups discussion is now

entirely at

http://analytic-comments.blogspot.com/2012/08/psychotherapeutenyahoogroupsde.html

  

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