The Truth About Circumcision

Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Molyneux breaks down the truth behind circumcision, including details on the procedure, it's history, rate of occurrence, claimed medical justifications, relation to masturbation, negative consequences and it's morality.  Sources: https://freedomain.com/the-truth-about-circumcision/  FOLLOW ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneux  GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK! https://peacefulparenting.com/  Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!  Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!  You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!  See you soon! https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

Transcript

00:00Hi everybody, it's Stefano Moleni from Freedom Aid Radio.

00:02This is the truth about circumcision, and please, please, if you are going to have children

00:07or you have any influence over people who are going to have children, particularly boys,

00:12I strongly urge you to take a few minutes, please, and watch this presentation.

00:16It is very, very important.

00:19So, a lot of people, of course, don't really know what circumcision entails.

00:23It's not the mere removal of the foreskin, it's the separation of the foreskin from the glands.

00:27So, this is a nurse who was witnessing, as a student, what was involved in the circumcision,

00:35and she said,

00:37We students filed into the newborn nursery to find a baby strapped, spread eagle to a plastic board

00:43on a countertop across the room.

00:46He was struggling against his restraints, tugging, whimpering, and then crying helplessly.

00:53I stroked his little head and spoke softly to him.

00:55He began to relax and was momentarily quiet.

01:00The silence was soon broken by a piercing scream, the baby's reaction to having his foreskin pinched

01:06and crushed as the doctor attached the clamp to his penis.

01:12The shriek intensified when the doctor inserted an instrument between the foreskin and the glands,

01:17head of the penis, tearing the two structures apart.

01:20The baby started shaking his head back and forth, the only part of his body free to move,

01:28as the doctor used another clamp to crush the foreskin lengthwise, which he then cut.

01:35This made the opening of the foreskin large enough to insert a circumcision instrument the device used

01:40to protect the glands from being severed during the surgery.

01:42The baby began to gasp and choke, breathless from his shrill, continuous screams.

01:52During the next stage of the surgery, the doctor crushed the foreskin against the circumcision instrument

01:56and then finally amputated it.

02:02In general, this is done, at least until recently, when doctors denied that babies were able to feel pain at all,

02:08which is quite mad.

02:09It was performed without anesthetic.

02:12Now, often what is used is a topical anesthetic, which does almost nothing to prevent the trauma of this kind of agony

02:19and leaves the baby with long-term psychological and physical problems.

02:27So, just before we start, just so people have an understanding of this most common baby operation,

02:36which is performed every 47 seconds in the United States,

02:40and you can skip this on the link below if you want,

02:42but let's actually hear what goes on and how the baby reacts.

02:50So, with that in mind, let us start with the introduction.

02:53Male circumcision, of course, is the surgical removal of the foreskin from the human penis.

02:57The foreskin, of course, is evolved or is designed to protect the head of the penis

03:01to enhance sexual pleasure for the man and for the woman and facilitate intercourse.

03:06The foreskin, on the average adult male, is about 12 square inches of highly erogenous tissue.

03:12Now, of course, for the man, the sensual pleasure is enhanced with the protection and the sensitivity of the foreskin,

03:20but for the woman as well, there's less friction and less discomfort from an uncircumcised penis

03:26or a natural penis than there is from a circumcised penis.

03:30This is fairly well established.

03:32Male circumcision is one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures,

03:37traditionally undertaken as a mark of cultural identity or religious importance.

03:41Circumcision is the most common surgical procedure performed on newborns in the United States.

03:46There has been some controversy, it tends to be diminishing now, about the efficacy and medical value of circumcision.

03:56At no time in its 75-year history has the American Academy of Pediatrics ever recommended infant circumcision.

04:04Significant legal and ethical questions have been raised concerning informed consent and autonomy over circumcision.

04:10Do we have the right to remove a highly sensitive and incredibly painful to remove body part from a baby without their consent?

04:19So we're going to have a look at the history, ethics, justifications and prevalence of circumcision.

04:23Let's start with some facts.

04:25So, between 70 and 80% of the men in the world are intact, are not circumcised.

04:33Most circumcised males are Muslims.

04:35There's no national medical organization in the world that recommends the routine circumcision of male infants.

04:44According to a comprehensive study, newborn responses to pain are, quote,

04:49similar to but greater than those observed in adult subjects.

04:53They can measure cortisol, other kinds of stress responses and so on, their heart rate elevation and so on.

04:59Circumcision for infants is incredibly painful and traumatic.

05:04As some infants do not cry because they go into a traumatic shock from the overwhelming pain of the surgery.

05:09No existing or experimental anesthetic has been found to be safe and effective in preventing circumcision pain in infants.

05:18And, of course, you have to remember that baby boys are peeing into diapers, thus putting uric acid against the surgical wound,

05:26which is why they scream when placed on their bellies or scream when they urinate.

05:30Various studies have found that short-term effects of circumcision include changed sleep patterns,

05:38activity levels, and mother-infant interaction, more irritability, and disruptions in feeding and bonding.

05:45Long-term effects have not been studied.

05:48Changes in pain responses, though, have been demonstrated at six months of age.

05:52So, six months afterwards, the boys who were circumstances show changes in pain responses,

05:58which means that it has permanently, or at least pretty permanently, rewired their neurological system to undergo circumcision.

06:08The rate of complications occurring in the hospital and during the first year has been documented as high as 38%.

06:14So, almost four out of ten boys have some sort of complication.

06:21These include hemorrhage, infection, surgical injury, and, in rare cases, death.

06:29Adults, problems with premature ejaculation.

06:32When you don't have a foreskin, I imagine, you have to thrust a lot harder and faster to achieve sexual pleasure.

06:38They use a lack of a foreskin also makes using a condom even worse because you lack sensitivity to begin with.

06:45You lack sensation to begin with.

06:46You're less likely to use a condom.

06:48And circumcised men, probably as a result of this, are over four and a half times more likely to use erectile dysfunction drugs as they get older.

07:00Circumcision removes up to one half of the erogenous tissue on the penile shaft.

07:06That is, um, catastrophic.

07:09It's catastrophic.

07:11In a survey of those with comparative sexual experience, i.e., um, circumcised and intact penises,

07:18women preferred the natural penis over the circumcised penis by six to one.

07:23Also, I think they preferred having sex with men rather than robots.

07:26So, with circumcised partners, this is important because, uh, an intact penis is much more pleasurable for the woman sexually.

07:35A happy sex life is pretty foundational to a happy romantic relationship.

07:39With circumcised partners, surveyed women were more likely to feel disinterested, frustrated, and discontented.

07:44When their partners were not circumcised, women were more likely to feel intimate with their partners, relaxed.

07:49They felt warmth, mutual satisfaction, and complete as a woman, and the greatest sexual satisfaction benefited the relationship.

07:57This, of course, is not to say that circumcised men cannot have happy and fulfilling sexual relationships.

08:02Just on, in general and on average, they tend, they tend to be more satisfying with an intact penis.

08:08The American Academy of Pediatrics said in 1999, relative to this question of can you keep an uncircumcised penis clean, of course you can,

08:19there is little evidence to affirm the association between circumcision status and optimal penile hygiene.

08:25Not a good name for a punk band.

08:27The uncircumcised penis is easy to keep clean.

08:30Caring for your son's uncircumcised penis requires no special action.

08:34Foreskin retraction should never be forced.

08:36Babies, of course, are born with a foreskin, baby boys, and it should not be retracted through force.

08:44Now, we'll get into this in a sec, but I wanted to mention it up front,

08:47that babies who are circumcised show significant behavioral changes,

08:53fundamental, almost you could say, personality changes.

08:56Extended crying after the circumcision lasted for hours each day,

09:01and can persist for up to a year.

09:04This behavior is often called colic.

09:07Colic remains something that people don't know exactly what causes it,

09:10but one thing that has been hypothesized,

09:13and for which there is some correlation,

09:15is circumcision.

09:19Circumcision leads to repetitive crying.

09:21It rewires the baby's pain mechanisms.

09:23In one of the most important studies,

09:27the behavior of nearly 90% of circumcised infants

09:30significantly changed after the circumcision.

09:32Some became more active, and some became less active.

09:36The quality of the change generally was associated with whether they were crying

09:39or quiet, respectively, at the start of the circumcision.

09:41This suggests the use of different coping styles by infants

09:43when they are subjected to extreme pain.

09:45In addition, the researchers observed that circumcised infants

09:49had lessened ability to comfort themselves

09:51or to be comforted by others.

09:54It's hard to ignore the fact

09:55that your caregiver just sliced half of the sensitive nerves off your penis.

10:02That's kind of impossible to ignore

10:05at a very foundational animal-like level.

10:09And there have been some preliminary associations

10:12done between circumcision and things like autism,

10:14circumcision, and ADHD.

10:16I'll refer you to the links in the low bar

10:18to explore this further.

10:20It's not proven, but there are some vague associations

10:22that require further research,

10:24but worth looking into.

10:27A nurse who has seen many circumcised infants

10:30before they go home reported,

10:32quote, when you lay them on their stomachs,

10:33they scream.

10:34When their diaper is wet, they scream.

10:35Normally, they don't scream if their diaper is wet.

10:37Baby boys who are not circumcised

10:39do not scream like that.

10:40The circumcised babies are more irritable,

10:42and they nurse poorly.

10:44Let's look at some of the longer-term effects of circumcision.

10:50Researchers at the Children's Hospital in Boston

10:52noted changes in sleep patterns,

10:54activity levels, irritability,

10:55and mother-infant interaction.

10:57They concluded, quote,

10:58the persistence of specific behavioral changes

11:02after circumcision in neonates

11:04implies the presence of memory.

11:07In the short term,

11:08these behavioral changes may disrupt

11:09the adaptation of newborn infants

11:11to their postnatal environment,

11:12the development of parental infant bonding,

11:15and feeding schedules.

11:17So, I mean, one of the things that can happen,

11:19this is sort of one of the domino effects

11:20of circumcision that is hypothesized,

11:22though as yet not proven,

11:24is that if the circumcision rewires the baby

11:27and causes more crying,

11:29persistent crying,

11:30colicky behavior,

11:30sleep disturbances,

11:32poor latching onto the breast,

11:33poor breastfeeding,

11:34and so on,

11:35then this is very frustrating

11:36and difficult

11:37for the mom

11:38or the dad,

11:40whoever's there.

11:41And this interferes with the bond.

11:43It can cause postpartum depression.

11:46That's been hypothesized.

11:47So, it is a significant domino effect

11:49to hack off an incredibly sensitive part

11:53of your baby's body.

11:55The fact that this needs to be said

11:57is amazing to me.

11:58A team of Canadian researchers

12:00produced evidence

12:00that circumcision has long-lasting traumatic effects.

12:03An article published

12:04in the international medical journal

12:06The Lancet

12:06reported the effect of infant circumcision

12:09on pain response

12:10during subsequent routine vaccination.

12:11The researchers tested

12:1387 infants

12:14at 4 months

12:15or 6 months of age.

12:16The boys who had been circumcised

12:17were more sensitive to pain

12:19than the uncircumcised boys.

12:21It's a rewiring.

12:24Differences between groups

12:25were significant

12:25regarding facial action,

12:27crying time,

12:28and assessments of pain.

12:32You're permanently changing

12:33the pain response

12:33of the boy,

12:36it seems.

12:38The authors believe that

12:39quote,

12:39neonatal circumcision

12:40may induce long-lasting

12:41changes in infant pain behavior

12:43because of alterations

12:44in their infants

12:45in the infant's central

12:46neuroprocessing

12:47of painful stimuli.

12:49They also write that

12:50quote,

12:51the long-term consequences

12:52of surgery

12:53done without anesthesia

12:54are likely to include

12:56post-traumatic stress

12:57as well as pain.

12:58It is therefore possible

12:59that the greater

13:00vaccination response

13:01in the infant circumcised

13:03without anesthesia

13:04may represent

13:05an infant analog

13:06of a post-traumatic stress disorder

13:08triggered by a traumatic

13:09and painful event

13:10and re-experienced

13:11under similar circumstances

13:13of pain

13:13during vaccination.

13:16What more can I say?

13:18So let's look at

13:19some of the history.

13:21So people who say,

13:22well, all these medical benefits

13:23and so on,

13:24well,

13:26circumcision was developed

13:27a long time

13:27before these medical benefits

13:28were known,

13:29when people still believe

13:30that putting leeches on eyeballs

13:31could cure migraines.

13:32The origins of circumcision

13:34are disputed,

13:35but the earliest documented evidence

13:36in ancient Egypt

13:38artwork dated around 2400 BC.

13:42So writings range

13:43from describing circumcision

13:45as a way to increase

13:46social status

13:46and improve cleanliness

13:47to a rite of passage

13:48from childhood to adulthood.

13:51Judaism adopted circumcision

13:53from the Egyptians

13:53through Moses,

13:55who left Egypt

13:55with the Hebrew slaves.

13:58So according to the book

13:59of Genesis,

14:00God told Abraham

14:00to circumcise himself,

14:02his household

14:03and his slaves

14:03as an everlasting covenant

14:05in their flesh.

14:07Those who were not circumcised

14:08were to be cut off

14:09from their people.

14:11So,

14:12I guess God

14:13didn't have a problem

14:14with slavery

14:15just with

14:17slaves' foreskins.

14:19Well, that's good.

14:20It's good to get

14:20your moral priorities straight.

14:22In the Jewish religion,

14:23male infants

14:24are traditionally circumcised

14:25on their eighth day of life.

14:26Though,

14:27it is quite

14:28interesting to note

14:29that a fairly significant

14:31number of Jews,

14:32including Jews in Israel,

14:33are no longer circumcising

14:34because they recognize

14:36that it is barbaric.

14:38The Jewish tradition

14:39of circumcision

14:40was challenged

14:41when Alexander the Great

14:42conquered Jewish lands

14:43between 334 BC

14:44and 331 BC.

14:46Circumcision

14:47was counter to Greek beliefs

14:48as it violated

14:49the natural human form

14:50and thus Greek

14:50and Jewish cultures

14:51collided,

14:52causing fierce debates

14:53from Jews

14:55and non-Jews alike.

14:56Jewish rabbis argued

14:58that the foreskin

14:59itself was an imperfection

15:01that needed to be cut off

15:02to reveal the correct

15:03male human form,

15:06which is interesting

15:08because that means

15:08that God created

15:09something imperfect

15:10that a knife

15:12needs to fix.

15:14Theology

15:15is confusing.

15:18During the early days

15:19of Christianity,

15:20circumcision was required

15:21for all comforts,

15:22which meant you really

15:23had to love Jesus

15:24to say goodbye to that.

15:26But Evangelist Paul

15:28did not require circumcision,

15:30with baptism taking its role

15:32as a more universal ritual

15:33for both men and women.

15:34So it's a little bit

15:35more civilized.

15:39It was also believed

15:40that Christianity

15:40would have more appeal

15:42to people such as

15:42the Greeks and the Romans

15:43if circumcision

15:44was not required.

15:45And of course,

15:45the spread of Christianity

15:46through the Roman Empire,

15:47through the conversion

15:48of Roman emperors,

15:49was important.

15:51The role of circumcision

15:53within Christianity

15:53is still debated.

15:56Both the Torah

15:56and the Old Testament

15:57are still considered

15:58the word of God

15:58and advocate circumcision,

16:00yet it is argued

16:00that the new covenant

16:01provided by Christ

16:02was meant to release

16:03the people

16:03from such confining rituals.

16:07The Coptic Christians

16:08in Egypt

16:08and the Ethiopian

16:09Orthodox Christians,

16:10two of the oldest

16:11surviving forms

16:11of Christianity,

16:13still retain many

16:14of the features

16:15of early Christianity,

16:16including circumcision,

16:17but hopefully not

16:18stoning to death

16:20atheists and witches

16:22and sorcerers

16:23and wizards

16:24and homosexuals

16:26and others.

16:31Now,

16:33circumcision came to America

16:34in the 1870s

16:35as a way of combating

16:36masturbation.

16:37There's really no

16:37nicer way to put it.

16:39In the 19th century,

16:40non-religious circumcision

16:41in English-speaking countries

16:43arose

16:43due to negative attitudes

16:45towards sex,

16:46especially masturbation.

16:48Masturbation was,

16:49of course,

16:49believed to be responsible

16:50for a wide range

16:51of mental disorders,

16:53commonly referred to

16:54as masturbatory insanity,

16:56I guess,

16:57which was an early name

16:58for the internet.

16:59The term self-abuse

17:01was often used

17:01to describe masturbation

17:03and a wide range

17:03of preventative treatments

17:05were recommended.

17:07These treatments

17:07included things like

17:08a strict diet,

17:09moral exhortations

17:10to not touch yourself,

17:12hydrotherapy,

17:12which is,

17:13I think,

17:13submersion in cold water,

17:15and marriage,

17:16as well as more

17:17drastic measures

17:17like surgery,

17:18physical restraints,

17:19and punishment

17:20for masturbation.

17:24As some doctors

17:25even recommended

17:26covering the penis

17:26with plaster Paris.

17:28I think that's also

17:30what happened

17:30with Jimi Hendrix

17:31as well.

17:32Or covering the penis

17:33with leather

17:33or rubber,

17:34cauterization,

17:36making boys wear

17:37chastity belts

17:38or spiked rings,

17:39and at times

17:40even castration.

17:43So circumcision

17:44is actually a step forward

17:45from the 19th century.

17:47Of course,

17:47everybody understood

17:48that the foreskin

17:48was central

17:50to erotic sensation,

17:52and they wanted

17:53to cut it off

17:53because they considered

17:54it a major factor

17:55leading boys

17:56to masturbate.

17:58Both opponents

17:59and supporters

18:00of circumcision

18:01agreed that the

18:01significant role

18:02the foreskin

18:02played in sexual response

18:03was the main reason

18:04why it should be

18:05either left in place

18:06or removed.

18:07This, of course,

18:08goes back to

18:09male disposability,

18:11which is one of the reasons

18:12why male circumcision

18:13is not particularly

18:15frowned on,

18:16whereas female circumcision

18:18is enormously frowned on.

18:21So, okay,

18:22so some people say,

18:23well, you might get

18:24a urinary tract infection.

18:25Dun, dun, dun.

18:26Oh, my God.

18:27So a decrease

18:28in the risk

18:29of these UTIs,

18:30one of the most common

18:31medical justifications

18:32for circumcision

18:33of newborn males.

18:35The frequently debated

18:37correlation between

18:38intactness and UTIs

18:39was only discovered

18:40in 1982,

18:42long after the custom

18:43of circumcision

18:43was well established

18:44within the United States.

18:45So when it starts

18:46because you hate

18:47people masturbating

18:48and you don't have

18:49access to soap,

18:51whatever comes

18:52after that

18:53may be considered

18:54ex post facto

18:55justifications,

18:56to say the least.

18:57during the first

18:59few months of life,

19:01uncircumcised male

19:01infants are at

19:02increased risk

19:03for UTIs.

19:04But thereafter,

19:06UTIs are predominantly

19:07found in women,

19:08of course.

19:10The rate of urinary tract

19:12infection in males

19:13under two years old

19:14is about

19:14uno,

19:16one percent.

19:18To prevent a single

19:19male urinary tract

19:21infection,

19:21an estimated

19:22111 circumcisions

19:24need to be performed.

19:26Now,

19:27for those of you

19:28in the audience

19:29who aren't women,

19:30when a female

19:31gets a urinary tract

19:32infection,

19:33they don't cut off

19:33her clitoris.

19:34What happens is

19:35you get antibiotics

19:36and the same treatment

19:37works exactly the same

19:38for males.

19:39You don't actually

19:40need to hack off

19:40half the erogenous

19:42aspects of the penis.

19:45Penile cancer.

19:46Oh,

19:47this show is getting

19:47more entertaining

19:48by the moment,

19:48isn't it?

19:50Some studies

19:51seem to indicate

19:52that circumcision

19:52during infancy

19:53or childhood

19:54may provide

19:54partial protection

19:55against penile cancer.

19:57The same protection

19:58is not seen

19:58when circumcision

19:59is performed

19:59in adulthood.

20:02So,

20:03we say,

20:03okay,

20:03well,

20:03maybe it'll

20:04possibly help

20:05reduce penile cancer.

20:07The American

20:08Cancer Society

20:09acknowledges

20:10the rarity

20:10of the disease

20:11and notes

20:11that neither

20:11the American

20:13Academy of Pediatrics

20:14nor the Canadian

20:15Academy of Pediatrics

20:16recommend routine

20:18neonatal circumcision.

20:20Now,

20:20the lifetime risk

20:21of penile cancer

20:22is estimated

20:22as one

20:24in 1,437

20:25for men

20:26in the U.S.

20:28Let's compare

20:28that to breast cancer,

20:30which is one

20:30in eight

20:30for women

20:31in the U.S.

20:32So,

20:33then,

20:34for a woman

20:34who's not going

20:35to have kids

20:35or for a woman

20:36who has finished

20:37breastfeeding,

20:38surely we should

20:39remove the breasts

20:40because that's

20:42a much higher risk.

20:43So,

20:43this is the nonsense

20:44that people say.

20:45This is only indicated,

20:48not exactly proven,

20:49and it's a much,

20:50much lower risk

20:51and so it's

20:53really not,

20:54I mean,

20:55your appendix

20:55may blow too.

20:56Does that mean

20:57we should

20:57take out

20:59the appendix

21:00of babies

21:00as well

21:01and maybe

21:01one of their kidneys

21:02in case they get

21:03kidney cancer

21:03and all other

21:06sorts of nonsense

21:06that might occur?

21:07Should we take out

21:08their tonsils

21:09in case they can

21:09abort?

21:09Yeah.

21:11Anyway.

21:11So,

21:14HIV transmission.

21:16So,

21:16recent years

21:17there have been

21:17some studies

21:17claiming that

21:18circumcision

21:18both does

21:19and does not

21:20have an impact

21:21on the rate

21:21of HIV transmission.

21:25Most of the studies

21:26claiming circumcision

21:27provides a benefit

21:28against HIV investigation

21:29have been conducted

21:31in Africa

21:31due to the regions,

21:32of course,

21:33this terrible epidemic

21:34that's occurring there,

21:34thanks Pope.

21:35There are many

21:36issues at play,

21:37of course,

21:38in the spread

21:38of sexually transmitted

21:39diseases.

21:40It's kind of hard

21:41to generalize.

21:43In the U.S.,

21:43during the AIDS epidemic

21:44of the 80s and 90s,

21:46about 85% of adult men

21:48were circumcised

21:49which was much higher.

21:50HIV still spread.

21:52Some of the studies say,

21:53oh, we'll get to that

21:54in a sec.

21:54Okay.

21:55That being said,

21:56the American Medical Association

21:57states that

21:57behavioral factors

21:59are far more important

22:00risk factors

22:02for acquisition of HIV

22:03and other STDs

22:04than circumcision status.

22:06And circumcision cannot

22:07be responsibly viewed

22:08as protecting

22:09against

22:10such infections.

22:12So,

22:13consistent condom usage

22:14found to reduce

22:14the risk of HIV infection

22:16between 69% to 95%

22:17in various studies.

22:19Far higher

22:20than anything

22:21that has been claimed

22:22or certainly proven

22:23for circumcision.

22:25Of course,

22:25the most reliable way

22:26to not get STDs,

22:27including AIDS

22:28or HIV,

22:29is to be abstinent,

22:31to masturbate,

22:33or to be in a long-term

22:34mutually monogamous

22:35relationship

22:35with an uninfected partner.

22:37Yay, love.

22:37So,

22:39let's look at

22:40these study flaws.

22:43African national population

22:44surveys

22:44in eight countries

22:45found a higher rate

22:46of HIV infection

22:47among circumcised men

22:48compared to men

22:49who were not circumcised.

22:50One of the reasons

22:51for this

22:51is if you believe

22:53that being circumcised

22:54means that you're

22:55bulletproof to HIV

22:56transmission,

22:57you're less likely

22:58to use

22:58a condom.

23:00And also,

23:00because you're

23:01circumcised,

23:01you don't want

23:01to use a condom

23:02because it's

23:03that much less sensation

23:04for your poor

23:04wood-based penis.

23:06So,

23:07you're more likely

23:08to get infected

23:08if you believe that

23:09and are willing

23:10to use,

23:11like,

23:11not as willing

23:12to use a condom,

23:13then that's a problem.

23:14There are at least

23:1517 observational studies

23:17that have not found

23:17any benefit

23:18from male circumcision

23:19in reducing

23:20HIV transmission.

23:22As we mentioned

23:23among developed countries,

23:25the U.S.

23:25has the highest

23:26circumcision rate

23:27and the highest rate

23:27of heterosexually

23:28transmitted HIV.

23:30Other countries

23:30have lower rates

23:31of HIV infection

23:32than the U.S.

23:33and do not

23:34practice circumcision.

23:36And look at the math,

23:37for heaven's sakes.

23:38The cost of one circumcision

23:39in Africa

23:40can pay

23:41for 3,000 condoms.

23:45Now,

23:46the studies say

23:47even if you are circumcised,

23:49use a condom.

23:50So,

23:50because of the superior

23:51effectiveness

23:52of condom circumcision

23:53adds little

23:53additional protection.

23:55Unlike circumcision,

23:56condoms also have

23:57the advantage

23:58of also protecting

23:59women.

24:00And there are,

24:00of course,

24:01no surgical risks

24:01and complications.

24:05So,

24:05what is the prevalence?

24:07It's going down

24:08in certain areas,

24:09thank heavens, right?

24:10So,

24:10the World Health Organization

24:11has estimated

24:12that globally

24:1230% of males

24:13aged 15 and over

24:14are circumcised

24:15with almost 70%

24:16of these

24:17being Muslim.

24:19Male circumcision

24:19is nearly universal

24:20in the Middle East,

24:21Central Asia,

24:22Bangladesh,

24:23Indonesia,

24:23and Pakistan.

24:25It is very prevalent

24:26in parts of Southeast Asia,

24:28North Africa,

24:29West Africa,

24:30South Korea,

24:30India,

24:31the Philippines,

24:32Israel,

24:33and the United States.

24:35In comparison,

24:37circumcision is

24:38uncommon

24:39in Latin America,

24:41Europe,

24:42parts of

24:42Southern Africa,

24:43and most of

24:44Asia and Oceania.

24:46Yay,

24:47German mom for me.

24:48The United States,

24:50Canada,

24:51the United Kingdom,

24:52Australia,

24:52and New Zealand

24:53have generally

24:53seen a steady

24:54decline in male circumcision

24:56while prevalence

24:57is increasing

24:58in Southern Africa.

25:01Actually,

25:01when my daughter

25:02was born,

25:02they said,

25:03if you have a son

25:03here in Canada,

25:04we don't circumcise.

25:05We won't do it.

25:07I guess they finally

25:07picked up on the

25:08do no harm thing.

25:11In the U.S.,

25:12three quarters of

25:12American adult men

25:13are circumcised.

25:14There are over

25:1564,000,

25:15640,000 procedures

25:17each year,

25:18or around one,

25:19every 49 seconds.

25:22It's like a combine

25:23harvester of dicks.

25:26Figures from the

25:27Centers for Disease

25:28Control and Prevention,

25:29CDC,

25:29show that in 2010,

25:31approximately 32%

25:32of newborn boys

25:33in the U.S.

25:33were circumcised

25:34in hospital.

25:37These numbers

25:37are down from

25:38a high of

25:38approximately 85%

25:40in 1965,

25:4179% in the 80s,

25:4365% in 2002,

25:4556% in 2006,

25:47and 54.5%

25:49in 2009.

25:51Do you see that?

25:52We check these numbers.

25:53The researchers

25:54are, we check these

25:54numbers six ways

25:55from Sunday.

25:56It means that

25:57from 2009 to 2010,

26:00the prevalence

26:01of circumcision

26:03in the U.S.

26:04declined from

26:0554.5%

26:06in one year

26:07to 32%.

26:09Oh,

26:11Mamas Who Slice,

26:11you're going to have

26:12a lot to answer for

26:13in the future.

26:14Don't do it.

26:16At a state level,

26:17the differences

26:17in circumcision rates

26:19are very dramatic.

26:20About 86%

26:21of boys born in

26:22Michigan,

26:22had a hospital

26:23circumcision in 2009,

26:25compared with only

26:2513% of boys

26:27born in Nevada.

26:29So,

26:30if you meet a boy

26:30from Nevada,

26:3287% likelihood

26:33you can have

26:34a great time in bed.

26:36Medicaid funding

26:37for infant circumcision

26:38used to be available

26:39in every state,

26:40but starting with

26:40California in 1982,

26:4218 states have

26:43eliminated Medicaid

26:44coverage of routine

26:44circumcision

26:45by July 2011.

26:48Researchers have

26:49found a difference

26:50in the neonatal

26:51male circumcision rate

26:52of 24%

26:53between states

26:54with and without

26:55Medicaid coverage.

26:55That's shocking

26:56and appalling.

26:58That,

26:59oh,

26:59I have to pay

27:00for it myself?

27:01Well then,

27:02you know,

27:02culture,

27:02religion be damned,

27:03I'm not going to

27:04spend a couple of

27:04hundred bucks

27:05for a circumcision.

27:05Okay,

27:06no circumcision,

27:07because a hundred

27:07bucks,

27:08two hundred bucks,

27:08three hundred bucks,

27:09makes all the

27:09difference in the world.

27:10In Arizona in 2001,

27:15one year before the

27:15Medicaid provision was

27:16cut,

27:1741% of males born in

27:18the state were

27:19circumcised in a

27:20hospital.

27:20Two years later,

27:21that number had

27:21fallen to 26%.

27:23That which you

27:25subsidize increases.

27:29About 117 newborn

27:31males die each year

27:32in the U.S.

27:32as a result of their

27:33circumcision,

27:34most from infections

27:35or blood loss.

27:35This accounts for

27:36about 1.3% of male

27:38neonatal deaths

27:39from all causes.

27:405.1% of males

27:43will have significant

27:44complications from

27:44circumcision and the

27:46rate can be as high

27:46as 55% for all

27:48complications.

27:50Myatal stenosis,

27:52narrowing of the

27:52urinary opening,

27:53has been found in

27:5420% of circumcised

27:56boys.

27:57Anesthesia is used

27:58in only 45% of

28:00circumcisions.

28:02The most effective

28:03anesthesia does not

28:04eliminate all pain

28:05and the most common

28:06type used,

28:07a topical cream,

28:07does almost nothing

28:08to reduce it.

28:10And it sure doesn't

28:11help when you're

28:12peeing into your

28:12open wound later.

28:15A major clinical

28:16test of the various

28:17types of anesthetics

28:18used during circumcision

28:19was stopped for

28:20humane reasons due

28:21to the intensity of

28:22the pain that was

28:23observed.

28:24So, we'll stop

28:25studying circumcision

28:27because it's inhumane,

28:28but for a lot of

28:29people, it's still

28:30worth continuing.

28:32Circumcision often

28:33removes 75% of

28:35penile sensitivity

28:36through the removal

28:36of the ridged

28:37band foreskin

28:38lips and often

28:40the entire

28:41frenulum.

28:43In studies, a higher

28:43percentage of

28:44circumcised males

28:45also describe

28:45experiencing discomfort,

28:47pain, numbness,

28:48and unusual

28:48sensations during

28:50sexual intercourse.

28:52As adults,

28:54males circumcised

28:55in infancy are

28:56approximately five

28:56times more likely

28:57to be diagnosed

28:58with erectile

28:59dysfunction.

28:59You hack it,

29:02you break it.

29:05Now, this

29:06ultra-Orthodox,

29:07you've probably

29:07read about this

29:08in the New York

29:08Times and other

29:09places, but it's

29:09worth mentioning.

29:11A controversial

29:11religious ceremony

29:12within the ultra-Orthodox

29:13Jewish community

29:14called

29:15Metsitsa B'peh

29:17adds another layer

29:20of controversy to

29:21the circumcision

29:22discussion.

29:23After performing

29:24the ritual circumcision,

29:25the rabbi,

29:25Ormohal,

29:27draws blood away

29:28from the newborn

29:29baby's freshly

29:29circumcised penis

29:30using his mouth

29:31to create suction.

29:34The CDC has

29:35determined that

29:3620,493 newborn

29:39males born in

29:39New York City

29:40may have had

29:41direct oral suction

29:42during the almost

29:43six-year period

29:43in which statistics

29:44were monitored.

29:46The risk of

29:47contracting a form

29:47of herpes

29:48following this ritual

29:49with confirmed

29:49or likely direct

29:51orogenital suction

29:52is estimated to be

29:5324.4 per 100,000

29:55cases, which is

29:563.4 times higher

29:58than for babies

29:58who did not

29:59have direct

29:59orogenital suction.

30:02The 5,000-year-old

30:04religious practice

30:05has infected

30:05at least 13

30:06newborn males

30:07with the herpes

30:08simplex virus.

30:10Ten of the

30:10infected babies

30:11were hospitalized,

30:12two suffered

30:13brain damage,

30:14and another two

30:16died due to

30:17the infection.

30:19Let me just

30:20remove the

30:21religious context

30:23from this

30:24and it is

30:28unspeakably

30:29appalling.

30:34How is it

30:35for the ladies?

30:36Well, the World

30:36Health Organization

30:37classifies any

30:38removal of the

30:39external female

30:39genitals as

30:40female circumcision

30:41or female

30:42genital mutilation.

30:44See, it's not

30:45male genital mutilation

30:46when you remove

30:47a half to three

30:47quarters of

30:48the sensitivity

30:49of the penis

30:50and create

30:52significant problems

30:53down the road.

30:55It's called

30:55circumcision.

30:56It's got to be

30:57called genital

30:57mutilation for

30:59the women because

30:59in general women

31:00are more important

31:01than men in

31:02these situations.

31:04An estimated

31:04140 million females

31:06across the globe

31:07have experienced

31:07or had inflicted

31:08some form of

31:09female genital

31:10mutilation

31:11with over 100

31:12million of these

31:13instances occurring

31:14in Africa where

31:15the practice is the

31:16most frequently

31:16occurring.

31:19Rationales

31:20offered in

31:20cultures that

31:20promote female

31:21genital cutting

31:22include hygiene,

31:24disease prevention,

31:25sound familiar?

31:25Hygiene, disease

31:26prevention, improved

31:27appearance of the

31:28genitalia, and

31:29social acceptance.

31:30And these are

31:31similar to these,

31:31of course, offered

31:32by those who

31:32promote male

31:33circumcision.

31:34And you will look

31:35as barbaric to the

31:35future as we think

31:36of those who perform

31:37female genital

31:39mutilation today.

31:41Why is it so

31:43different?

31:43Why is it female

31:45genital mutilation

31:46and not male

31:46genital mutilation?

31:48All children

31:49should be spared

31:50this inhumane

31:51and unnecessary

31:52surgery.

31:54Whatever the

31:55justifications,

31:56I mean, let's be

31:57honest and let's

31:58be real about

31:59this.

31:59Forced removal of

32:00healthy genital

32:01tissue from any

32:01child, male or

32:03female, is

32:04unethical, immoral,

32:06and evil.

32:07It is a clear

32:07violation of the

32:08non-aggression

32:09principle.

32:09Thou shalt not

32:10initiate force

32:10against others.

32:12It is the

32:12initiation of

32:13force.

32:13It is the

32:14severing and

32:15cutting of

32:16healthy tissue

32:16that has evolved

32:18for very specific

32:18reasons.

32:20And all of

32:22these supposed

32:22problems that

32:24are loosely

32:24associated and

32:25possibly associated

32:26with intact

32:27penises are very

32:28easy to deal

32:29with through

32:30monogamy,

32:31through condoms,

32:32through washing,

32:33and through

32:34antibiotics should

32:35the very rare

32:36UTI occur.

32:37So this is all

32:38nonsense.

32:39This is simply a

32:40cycle of trauma

32:41that repeats

32:41over and over

32:42and over again.

32:43And the degree

32:44to which this

32:45harms the minds

32:47and bodies and

32:48souls of children

32:48is incalculable.

32:51So please,

32:51please,

32:52please,

32:52leave your

32:54children's pee-pees

32:55alone.

32:56They're fine.

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