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The Circumcision Debate

Notable circumcision opponents

Marilyn F. Milos

Photo: Marilyn Milos

Marilyn Milos is a nurse in California. In 1979, she founded the activist group NOCIRC, which campaigns against circumcision.

Paul M. Fleiss

Photo: Paul Fleiss

Paul Fleiss is a pediatrician in Los Angeles, California.

Frederick M. Hodges

Robert S. Van Howe

Photo: Robert Van Howe

Robert Van Howe is a pediatrician in Michigan.

Van Howe is a vocal critic of circumcision. He has presented at NOCIRC's Fourth International Symposium on Sexual Mutilations (1996), and at the Strategies for Intactivists Conference (1996)[1]. He has also authored many papers and letters on the subject of circumcision[2-37].

In 1999, Van Howe published a meta-analysis of the literature on HIV and circumcision[27]. The meta-analysis had serious methodological flaws, which were noted in responses by Moses et al.[38], and by O'Farrell and Egger[39]. Van Howe's meta-analysis found that circumcised men were at increased risk of contracting HIV, though when performed with correct statistical methods, the opposite effect was found[38,39]. A subsequent study systematically reviewed the literature and performed a meta-analysis, confirming that the evidence suggests that circumcision has a protective effect against HIV[40].

Adolf Hitler (deceased)

Photo: Paul Fleiss

Adolf Hitler became dictator of Germany in 1934. He went on to launch the 2nd World War. Hitler was a fierce critic of circumcision. In Mein Kampf, he wrote:

It is true we Germans are barbarians; that is an honored title to us. I free humanity from the shackles of the soul; from the degrading suffering caused by the false vision called conscience and ethics. The Jews have inflicted two wounds on mankind: circumcision on its body and conscience on its soul. They are Jewish inventions. The war for the domination of the world is waged only between these two camps alone, the Germans and the Jews. Everything else is but deception.

Organisations opposing circumcision

Links are to the organisation's official website. Circs.org is not responsible for external content.

References

  1. Why does circumcision persist in the united states? [online] Nocirc.org. Available at: http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/fourth/vanhowe.html
  2. Van Howe RS. A perspective on controversies about neonatal circumcision. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1995 Jul;34(7):397-8
  3. Van Howe RS. Re: The detection of human papillomavirus deoxyribonucleic acid in intraepithelial, in situ, verrucous and invasive carcinoma of the penis. J Urol. 1996 Jun;155(6):2035
  4. Cold CJ, Van Howe RS. Effect of circumcision on incidence of urinary tract infection. J Pediatr. 1996 Sep;129(3):479
  5. Van Howe RS. Neonatal circumcision. J Fam Pract. 1996 Nov;43(5):431
  6. Van Howe RS. Consent for circumcision. CMAJ. 1997 Jan 1;156(1):17-8
  7. Van Howe RS. Response to "Determinants of decision making for circumcision" by C. Ciesielski-Carlucci, N. Milliken, and N. H. Cohen (CQ, Vol 5, No 2). Updating policy. Camb Q Healthc Ethics. 1997 Winter;6(1):88-9
  8. Cold CJ, Storms MR, Van Howe RS. Carcinoma in situ of the penis in a 76-year-old circumcised man. J Fam Pract. 1997 Apr;44(4):407-10
  9. Van Howe RS. Neonatal circumcision. Lancet. 1997 Apr 26;349(9060):1257
  10. Cold CJ, Van Howe RS, Storms MR. Anesthesia for neonatal circumcision. J Am Board Fam Pract. 1997 Jul-Aug;10(4):310-1.
  11. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ. Advantages and disadvantages of neonatal circumcision. JAMA. 1997 Jul 16;278(3):203.
  12. Van Howe RS. Re: Circumcision: successful glanular reconstruction and survival following traumatic amputation. J Urol. 1997 Aug;158(2):550
  13. Van Howe RS. Circumcision in infancy. Urology. 1997 Aug;50(2):315-6.
  14. Cold CJ, Storms MR, Van Howe RS. Re: Psoriasis: association with 2 rare cutaneous urological malignancies. J Urol. 1997 Oct;158(4):1527-8
  15. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ. Sex reassignment at birth: long-term review and clinical implications. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997 Oct;151(10):1062
  16. Van Howe RS. Variability in penile appearance and penile findings: a prospective study. Br J Urol. 1997 Nov;80(5):776-82.
  17. Van Howe RS. Circumcision and infectious diseases revisited. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1998 Jan;17(1):1-6
  18. Cold CJ, Van Howe RS. Significantly increased complication risks with mass circumcisions. Br J Urol. 1998 Feb;81(2):340
  19. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ. Local anesthesia for infants undergoing circumcision. JAMA. 1998 Apr 15;279(15):1170
  20. Cold CJ, Van Howe RS. Re: Somatosensory evoked potentials in patients with primary premature ejaculation. J Urol. 1998 Jun;159(6):2103-4
  21. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ. Neonatal circumcision. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998 Sep;152(9):931
  22. Van Howe RS. Cost-effective treatment of phimosis. Pediatrics. 1998 Oct;102(4):E43
  23. Van Howe RS. Pain relief for neonatal circumcision: serious design flaws? Pediatrics. 1999 Jan;103(1):196-7
  24. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ. Circumcision of newborn boys. Lancet. 1999 Feb 20;353(9153):670
  25. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ. Etiology of idiopathic anterior urethritis. Urology. 1999 Mar;53(3):658.
  26. Fleiss PM, Hodges FM, Van Howe RS. Immunological functions of the human prepuce. Sex Transm Infect. 1998 Oct;74(5):364-7
  27. Van Howe RS. Circumcision and HIV infection: review of the literature and meta-analysis. Int J STD AIDS. 1999 Jan;10(1):8-16
  28. Van Howe RS. Does circumcision influence sexually transmitted diseases?: a literature review. BJU Int. 1999 Jan;83 Suppl 1:52-62
  29. Van Howe RS, Svoboda JS, Dwyer JG, Price CP. Involuntary circumcision: the legal issues. BJU Int. 1999 Jan;83 Suppl 1:63-73
  30. Cold CJ, Van Howe RS. Re: Postneonatal circumcision with local anesthesia: a cost-effective alternative. J Urol. 1999 Dec;162(6):2104-5
  31. Van Howe RS. Re: Penile adhesions after neonatal circumcision. J Urol. 2001 Mar;165(3):915
  32. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ, Storms MR. Male circumcision and HIV prevention. Some science would not have gone amiss. BMJ. 2000 Dec 9;321(7274):1467-8
  33. Svoboda JS, Van Howe RS, Dwyer JG. Informed consent for neonatal circumcision: an ethical and legal conundrum. J Contemp Health Law Policy. 2000 Winter;17(1):61-133
  34. Van Howe RS, Cold CJ. Three cases of penile edema in peripubescent males. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2001 Sep;40(9):523-5
  35. Hodges FM, Svoboda JS, Van Howe RS. Prophylactic interventions on children: balancing human rights with public health. J Med Ethics. 2002 Feb;28(1):10-6
  36. Van Howe RS, Svoboda JS. HIV transmission in Africa in ways other than heterosexual sex. Int J STD AIDS. 2003 Sep;14(9):646
  37. Van Howe RS. A cost-utility analysis of neonatal circumcision. Med Decis Making. 2004 Nov-Dec;24(6):584-601
  38. Moses S, Nagelkerke NJ, Blanchard J. Analysis of the scientific literature on male circumcision and risk for HIV infection. Int J STD AIDS. 1999 Sep;10(9):626-8
  39. O'Farrell N, Egger M. Circumcision in men and the prevention of HIV infection: a 'meta-analysis' revisited. Int J STD AIDS 2000 Mar; 11(3): 137-42
  40. Weiss HA, Quigley MA, Hayes RJ. Male circumcision and risk of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS 2000 Oct 20; 14(15): 2361-70.
  41. Hitler A. Mein Kampf. 1923, 1927. As quoted by: http://www.internationalwallofprayer.org/A-196-Why-Be-Jewish.html

The circumcision debate [online]. Circs.org Nov 2004. Available at: URL: http://www.circs.org/reviews/debate/index.html

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File: www/reviews/debate/index.html. Last updated: 07 Feb 2005.