CIN (Circumcision Information Network) 3:27

CIRCUMCISION INFORMATION NETWORK
Volume 3, Number 27, 23 July 1996
E-mail:  CircInfoNe@aol.com

The purpose of this weekly 1000-word bulletin is to educate the public about
and to protect children and other non-consenting persons from genital
mutilation.  Readers are encouraged to copy and redistribute it, and to
contribute written material.  --Rich Angell, Editor.

FGM PROVES DEADLY
X-From: DYKS96A@prodigy.com (GEORGE HILL)
THE ADVOCATE, Baton Rouge, La (Monday 15 July 1996) Page 2A.
"Egyptian Girl, 11, Dies Following Circumcision"

Cairo, Egypt - An 11-year-old girl bled to death after a botched circumcision
performed by a village barber, police officials said Sunday.

The officials said the child, whose name was given only as Sara, died Friday
in a Cairo hospital after doctors were unable to stem heavy bleeding.

The girl's clitoris was removed by a barber in a village in the Nile Delta
the day before, when several girls were circumcised during a village
celebration, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.  The
government has sought to end female circumcision, the ritual cutting away of
a girl's genitals.  It has refused to ban the practice outright as human
rights activist demand.

The procedure is seen as a way to prevent promiscuity by stifling sexual
desire; 70 to 90 percent of young girls in Egypt are circumcised.

MGM PROVES DEADLIER
From:  gtf@cirp.org (Geoffrey T. Falk)
[contributed by an anonymous correspondent]

The following report appeared in the Port Elizabeth (South Africa) based
EASTERN PROVINCE HERALD (Monday, July 22, 1996):

Govt White Paper on circumcision ritual

E Cape to Act After Death of Xhosa Initiates

UMTATA - The Eastern Cape provincial government will next month release a
White Paper on initiation rituals after four young Xhosa men died of septic
wounds and dehydration after being circumcised last week.

A task team appointed by the government to investigate circumcision rituals
said their work should not be seen as an attempt to undermine respected
African traditions, reports Sapa.

Fifty-three youngsters from the Lusikisiki area were admitted to hospital
last week after botched circumcision rituals.

The rural town of Lusikisiki in the former Transkei is alarmed by the deaths
of the four - and has called an urgent meeting to prevent further fatalities,
Bronwen Roberts reports.

Town mayor Dr Prince Mangcotywa said there had been a "crisis" in fatalities
and infections of the boys.

Dr Mangcotywa said some would have to have their penises amputated.

R.N. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS TO INFANT CIRCUMCISION:  A MODEL FOR NURSE
EMPOWERMENT
An article by Betty Katz Sperlich, Mary Conant, and Frederick Hodges,
published in "REVOLUTION:  The Journal of Nurse Empowerment."
Part 3 of a multi-part series
Contributed by typist dyks96a@prodigy.com (George Hill)

Undaunted, we organized a free monthly class on circumcision for prospective
parents.  And believing that existing pamphlets, such as those prepared by
the American College of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists were inadequate, we invited physicians to cooperate with us
in preparing a factual and informative consent form about circumcision, as
well as a simple information handout for parents.

The physicians on our hospitals perinatal committee deleted references to the
sexual function of the foreskin, and the nursing administration requested we
eliminate references to pain.  In the end, the hospital forms committee
vetoed the consent form.

But we still had hopes for the handout.  In July, 1993 we sent a letter to
the physicians, asking them to review and approve the distribution of the
educational handout.  Generally, the pediatricians and family-practice
physicians had no objection to its distribution, but a few of the
obstetricians did object.  The hand-out was distributed to parents for
several months before the acting nurse-manager informed us, in a letter dated
September 17, 1993 that material on circumcision could only be given to
parents following a physician's order.

This "Gag Order" was clearly not in our patients' best interests, so we
consulted our union lawyer and the New Mexico Board of Nursing.  At that
time, the union lawyer had little support to offer, and the Board of Nursing
informed us they had no jurisdiction over the matter.

In a memo dated April 4, 1994, nurses objecting to circumcision were ordered
to assist in all pre- and post-operative stages of circumcision surgery.  We
responded in May by informing the administration that as conscientious
objectors, we would not obtain permits, set up the equipment, get other
nurses to assist, clean up the room, dispose of amputated body parts, and
restock equipment.  As the hospital became increasingly polarized on the
circumcision issue, the work atmosphere deteriorated, prompting us to call
for professional mediation.

PENTHOUSE ADDRESSES THE ISSUE
Thanks to Wayne Griffiths.  Ralph Gardner, Jr., "The Penis Page" of the
August 1996 issue of Penthouse magazine (P106) features foreskin restoration
and the anti-circumcision movement in a very positive light, complete with
addresses for more information on foreskin restoration.

ARTIST AND EDITOR NEEDED
An exciting new book focusing on male circumcision/foreskin restoration as a
sexuality issue from both the man's and his female partner's perspective will
soon be published.  This book includes eight drawings.  An artist is needed.
 An editor is also needed.  Please call Marie Dyer collect at (508) 481-1648,
after 12:00 EST.

STUPID QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"This probably sounds really stupid, but I kind of think [infant
circumcision] is 'American,' and I think it is silly to compare the
circumcision rate of the US with the rest of the world, when, back in the
early years of this great nation, we took pride in BEING DIFFERENT than other
nations."
"Sean," taken from a recent internet discussion.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION call NOCIRC, the National Organization of
Circumcision Information Resource Centers at (415) 488-9883, fax (415)
488-9660.  Ask about the resource provider nearest you.  For written
information, write NOCIRC, PO Box 2512, San Anselmo, CA 94979, with SASE
and/or donation if possible.  For further internet information, contact the
Doctors Opposing Circumcision Web site at
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~gcd/DOC.  For an up-to-date, and mostly
complete archive of the CIN the URL is http://www.cirp.org/CIRP/news/cin/.
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