Festive Milestone or Barbaric Abuse? - A Gray-Area Guide to the Circumcision Debate
July, 2011, Rabbi Shira Shazeer
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Page 8
Understand the dynamics of the debate
Circumcision is a hot button issue. Opponents of circumcision are more vocal and more organized than “supporters” so when you go looking for information, you’re likely to find a lot of anti-circumcision literature, from statistics to political arguments to personal stories.
There are a few good reasons why you’ll find so much more on one side of the debate than the other. First, anti-circumcision activists are trying to change the status quo. At the very least, they would like routine circumcision not to be done in hospitals or covered by insurance, and as the San Francisco ballot initiative demonstrates, many would like to outlaw it all together. People who see circumcision as harmless or beneficial aren’t working for change. Because anti-circumcision folks are working for change, they’re organized, which means they can alert each other to blog postings on the topic and flood the comments with their views. The other side doesn’t get as excited about it.
Another distinction between the pro and con arguments is that the con side has a universal answer to the debate. They want to see no circumcision. Maybe back when circumcision became routine they were, but at this point the pro side is not trying to have all baby boys circumcised. They see it as one of the many choices that parents have to make for their children. Many people who feel this way aren’t even aware that the practice is being challenged, so they aren’t out there as much posting their views for everyone to see.
The medical community is ambivalent, so they’re not defending the practice like they do other hot-button issues like vaccination, breastfeeding, back v. belly sleeping, etc. Since they see it as a practice with roughly equal risks and benefits, doctors seem to be keeping quiet in this debate, silently reinforcing the American Academy of Pediatrics policy that if parents don’t think it’s a good idea, they shouldn’t do it.
In the absence of a direct challenge to brit milah, the Jewish community has had no reason to be concerned with whether other people are circumcising their kids. While Jewish families may find the potential health benefits encouraging or comforting, they’re not the primary reason for brit milah, so you don’t find Jews pushing circumcision for others. I suspect that we may see more Jewish voices in the public debate as the attempts to ban circumcision are perceived as a threat to Jewish religious practice. You do find some disaffected Jews on the anti-circumcision side of the debate, and as in the debate in general, they tend to be very vocal and might seem to represent a larger chunk of the opinion than they actually do. It’s important for the Jewish community to hear those voices, and to be aware of the concerns, but it’s also worth noting that these voices represent a small, vocal minority within the Jewish community.
There are a few good reasons why you’ll find so much more on one side of the debate than the other. First, anti-circumcision activists are trying to change the status quo. At the very least, they would like routine circumcision not to be done in hospitals or covered by insurance, and as the San Francisco ballot initiative demonstrates, many would like to outlaw it all together. People who see circumcision as harmless or beneficial aren’t working for change. Because anti-circumcision folks are working for change, they’re organized, which means they can alert each other to blog postings on the topic and flood the comments with their views. The other side doesn’t get as excited about it.
Another distinction between the pro and con arguments is that the con side has a universal answer to the debate. They want to see no circumcision. Maybe back when circumcision became routine they were, but at this point the pro side is not trying to have all baby boys circumcised. They see it as one of the many choices that parents have to make for their children. Many people who feel this way aren’t even aware that the practice is being challenged, so they aren’t out there as much posting their views for everyone to see.
The medical community is ambivalent, so they’re not defending the practice like they do other hot-button issues like vaccination, breastfeeding, back v. belly sleeping, etc. Since they see it as a practice with roughly equal risks and benefits, doctors seem to be keeping quiet in this debate, silently reinforcing the American Academy of Pediatrics policy that if parents don’t think it’s a good idea, they shouldn’t do it.
In the absence of a direct challenge to brit milah, the Jewish community has had no reason to be concerned with whether other people are circumcising their kids. While Jewish families may find the potential health benefits encouraging or comforting, they’re not the primary reason for brit milah, so you don’t find Jews pushing circumcision for others. I suspect that we may see more Jewish voices in the public debate as the attempts to ban circumcision are perceived as a threat to Jewish religious practice. You do find some disaffected Jews on the anti-circumcision side of the debate, and as in the debate in general, they tend to be very vocal and might seem to represent a larger chunk of the opinion than they actually do. It’s important for the Jewish community to hear those voices, and to be aware of the concerns, but it’s also worth noting that these voices represent a small, vocal minority within the Jewish community.