A family says their newborn son nearly bled to death and is fighting for his life after he was circumcised at a New York City hospital.

Tim and Gabrielle Groth said their son, Cole, underwent the circumcision at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in Manhattan, where he was born on March 31.

  • blady_blah@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    72
    ·
    edit-2
    2 hours ago

    Stop circumcising children. Let men decide if they want to be circumcised when they reach the age of consent at the age of 18. I guarantee circumcision will drop by 95% or more.

    And if that’s the case, that circumcision only exists if you don’t give the boy the choice, then don’t fucking force this on an infant!

    • rmic@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      2 hours ago

      Let’s replace “curcumsising” with “imposing religion” to get the same result

      • blady_blah@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 hour ago

        Yes and no. That’s a much harder thing to argue in reality. I’m an atheist so I’m pretty anti-religion, but the reality is that all parents want to teach their child at least some of their worldview. If that worldview includes religion, who are we to say “no, you can’t teach that”? The child can always change their mind when they’re older and in theory there’s no harm. But a child can’t decide to get their foreskin back. (I know there is a surgery to try to add some back, but it’s just aesthetic, the nerves will never be recovered.)

  • Matombo@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    42
    ·
    14 hours ago

    Until about a year ago or something I didn’t even know that it’s such a common practice in the USA. For me it always was just a religios thing of Jews and for some rare medical cases where the foreskin opening is too tight.

    But now I know that it’s apparently considerd normal? dafuq

    Be assured it’s defenetly not in germany unless you are jewish.

    • BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      5 hours ago

      Doing it as religious tradition isn’t a justification as well, its still fuckin weird to mutilate a kids genitals without their consent

    • ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      7 hours ago

      Yeah, it’s said to have some kind of nebulous health benefits here.

      It really goes back to the turn of the 20th century, when all kinds of health gurus claimed it would curb masturbation (which they blamed for a variety of ills), but nobody says that anymore.

    • Scrollone@feddit.it
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      24
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      14 hours ago

      …or Muslim. But yes, the US has this horrible practice of mutilating all kids. Just like some third-world countries.

  • joel_feila@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    13 hours ago

    Luckily is was almoat, it happens every year. It’s rare but it possible to bleed to death from this

  • sploosh@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    63
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    19 hours ago

    There’s a really easy way to tell whether or not you should decide to circumcise a penis. First, check if it’s your penis. If it isn’t your penis, don’t circumcise it BECAUSE THAT IS NOT YOUR DICK AND YOU DO NOT GET TO DECIDE WHICH FLESH BELONGS AND WHICH DOESN’T ON IT.

      • Noodle07@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        8 hours ago

        My bro had one for medical reason, there’s no problem with that even though we usually dont do it here

      • Landless2029@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        14 hours ago

        I had a foreskin issue where I couldn’t pull it back. Got it removed around age 10. Wasn’t fun but now my captain doesn’t wear his cap to dinner. Looks normal too.

        • markko@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          14 hours ago

          I assumed they were specifically talking about babies. If there’s a genuine issue then it makes sense, but I don’t know of anything that’s diagnosable at birth that would require circumcision.

          I know a lot of young adults also get the procedure for the same reason as you. I was in your boat until probably my mid-teens before things fixed themselves, but it clearly doesn’t work out that way for some.

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        5 hours ago

        It’s elective because there’s no medical reason to do it. Babies don’t get to choose anything for themselves. An adult can elect to have a circumcision, and parents can elect to have their babies circumcised. It would be a better world if the latter weren’t true, but that ain’t the kind of world we got.

    • Aragaren@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      27
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      14 hours ago

      Stop with the “cosmetic surgery” and call it what it is…genital mutilation!

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        9 hours ago

        It’s both. Parents want their babies to have designer penises, so they pay doctors to mutilate them for aesthetic reasons. It is mutilation, and it is cosmetic surgery.

    • lowleekun@ani.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      7 hours ago

      Looking at your last statement and looking through the web i have to agree. However don’t you think you yourself have become a little bit too infatuated with the topic? Like don’t get me wrong, circumcision needs to go the fuck away (apart from very, very, very few medical reasons). Genital mutilation is however nothing sexual, but mostly cultural and religious (and i know you know that).

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    88
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 day ago

    Why do they still perform such barbaric rites in the 21st century in the first place?

        • otp@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          16
          ·
          20 hours ago

          Yeah, the first time I heard of people protesting against “mutilating children’s genitals [in North America]”, I thought it was a protest against circumcision. I thought, “Wow, we’re finally moving society forward!”

          …nope. It was backwards again.

      • AceSLive@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        25
        ·
        15 hours ago

        Not for the newborn it isn’t. Something as personal as your own genetals should be your own personal choice, but in this instance the owner of the penis gave no consent.

      • Treczoks@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        14 hours ago

        It is usually not the personal preference of the person operated on.

        There are a lot of medical decisions that simply should not be left in the hands of parents, and this is one of them, if not the score leader.

        • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          8
          ·
          7 hours ago

          It’s not a medical decision. The procedure is completely unnecessary and unwarranted without a diagnosis.

  • misteloct@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    51
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    In parenting classes in my liberal area, the nurses will say “I’m required to tell you that circumcision has medical benefits”. Then they fume how it’s based off bad research and cut themselves short. “However it’s not like your son will be lined up for a nude photo. You can break the cycle of trauma”. I’m lucky to live here.

    • JustOneMoreCat@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      7 hours ago

      Damn you have some good nurses. In my liberal area the best they did was mention that it’s optional (literally some people think it’s not). We also have liberal relatives who did it to their son just so he’d “look like dad.” Wtf

    • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      7 hours ago

      My partner gets mad when I point out that the same “medical benefits” can be said for FGM.

    • SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      34
      arrow-down
      17
      ·
      1 day ago

      I agree with you fully but there’s a discrepancy that needs to addressed. Now, before you get the wrong idea, I’m NOT defending or excusing anybody here. The medical staff and the parents should be held responsible for nearly killing this newborn. Child genital mutilation of any kind should be banned.

      Now, with that out the way, Male circumcision and female genital mutilation (or FGM, which is what I believe you’re referring to when you say ‘only applying to girls’) are not directly comparable. Male circumcision typically only removes the foreskin of the penis whereas FGM removes the both the clitoris and labia (I shudder while typing this out). It would be like castrating the entire penis and testicles.

      Again, this sort of thing should be banned and no child should suffer from the decisions they had no say in.

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        7 hours ago

        FGM removes the both the clitoris and labia

        There is an entire horrifying spectrum of FGM, not just what you posted.

        • dion_starfire@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          7 hours ago

          While you are correct, the traditional FGM as proposed by Kellogg (the guy who made non-religious circumcision popular in the US to prevent masturbation) was burning off the clitoris using an acid.

      • Tedesche@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        15 hours ago

        I’m curious: the person you replied to didn’t say they were comparable, so why did you feel the need bring it up?

        In my experience, people who point that out when no one has made the comparison are usually insecure about an issue that affects men getting attention and potentially eclipsing the issue affecting women. Like people who point out that female victims of domestic violence die more often from their assaults during discussions about male victims of domestic violence.

        You sure you wanna be that person? Try harder not to be, please.

      • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        16
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        19 hours ago

        It would be like castrating the entire penis and testicles.

        That is very much not accurate. Genital mutilation (of both genders) generally focuses on removing the ability to obtain pleasure from sex while maintaining reproductive capability.

        Circumcision is roughly analogous to clitoral hood amputation (one type of FGM). The foreskin also contains a substantial number of sensory nerves (Meissnar’s corpuscles, and ~10k-20k nerve endings specialized for pleasure). Additionally, the glans (head) is subjected to the external environment in a manner which it was not adapted for, resulting in formation of thickened, layer of skin to protect it. These two things, taken together, result in greatly reduced sensory and pleasure capabilities in the penis. The reason for its commonality in the US is the historical puritanical belief that sexuality is wrong and desire to repress sexuality in little boys.

        FGM is wrong. So is male genital mutilation. Inflicting either on those who can not consent is a crime against humanity that should not be accepted as commonplace.

        • seemefeelme@infosec.pub
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          8 hours ago

          I agree it should not be performed on a non-consenting individual, ESPECIALLY KIDS, but please do not claim the result is guaranteed to reduce sensitivity, as it is simply not true. Source: I am living proof the opposite can actually happen!

          I had phimosis and experienced paraphimosis which can result in losing the whole thing. A circumcision was one of the best decisions of my adult life. It is NOT a sexual death sentence or designed to be only that. It can in fact be a saviour.

          • stetech@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            7 hours ago

            Most genital mutilation on kids is not done due to necessity.

            It’s like saying we should perform mandatory surgery on everyone, but most everyone has to undergo it with no tangible benefit, just unnecessary risk – is it cool that we know how to perform the procedure in cases that medically necessitate it? Obviously. Does that mean there is a reason everyone needs it? Of course not.

      • Wahots@pawb.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        23 hours ago

        I’m fine with adults mutilating their foreskin, but I want the decision left up to the individual. Having the parents do it when they are a baby leaves the individual with no choice

      • moonlight@fedia.io
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        30
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        1 day ago

        It would be like castrating the entire penis and testicles.

        More like removing the glans and foreskin, but that doesn’t make it much better. There are definitely varying degrees of awfulness, but it’s all bad.

        While there are some truly evil and horrific practices like removing the clitoris or sewing the vulva shut, some female genital mutation is “just” removing the clitoral hood, which is directly analagous to the foreskin.

        Most people can agree that this practice is deeply wrong, and that it is still genital mutilation. And so I think categorizing male genital mutilation separately as “circumcision” is downplaying it.

      • fishos@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        16
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 day ago

        I’ll just say it’s very clear you’ve never seen what a botched circumcision does to a penis. You also don’t seem to know the biology of the male genitals very well either if you think it’s “just skin”.

        Why don’t we instead focus on “bodily autonomy”? No one should have unnecessary medical procedures done against their will and without their consent. It’s a pretty simple rule that applies to everyone and covers most of these issues simply.

  • pulido@lemmings.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    80
    arrow-down
    6
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    Why do parents keep choosing to cut up the genitals of their baby boys?

    Is it because the dad had his penis cut up for him, and therefore he must do it to his son because “nothing is wrong with his dick”?

    • makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      52
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 day ago

      In America at least most people don’t really consider it until the kid is born. Then in the post birth rush of things happening someone asks if you want to circumcise your kid. Most Dads will say “well I’m circumcised, so I guess” and his dad said “well I’m circumcised, so I guess” and his dad said “well I’m circumcised, so I guess” and his dad said “HE IS BORN OF SIN! We must circumcise him to discourage sinful behavior!”

      Most people really don’t think too deeply about most things, try not to over think it

      • bluewing@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        7 hours ago

        In the US, it’s very often the mother’s decision, because the nurses will ask her. Fathers mostly get very little say in the medical care of their children in the US at nearly any age if the mother is present.

        • makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          7 hours ago

          You’re correct, I was skipping details to make a joke. While ultimately the mother does deside I think most Moms (who are a mess from just giving birth) turn to the nearest penis owner they trust for a decision on the matter and that’s usually the dad

    • WindyRebel@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      1 day ago

      It’s due to lack of education about not cutting it and indoctrination of what has been societal norms. It’s much less nefarious than you think on the part of many parents. Most people don’t generally think about this ahead of time and research it.