Circumcision prevalence with intaction.org : 1893: In the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. J. A.Hofheimer claimed circumcision cured infant constipation. He then recommended circumcising babies before digestive issues appeared. “An early operation,” he wrote, “will relieve the child of a great source of irritation, and indirectly improve nutrition, changing a fretful, puny baby into a thriving, happy infant.” 1894: Dr. B. Merrill Ricketts wrote in the New York Medical Journal that he performed over 250 circumcisions to “cure” diseases such as hip-joint disease, tuberculosis, hernia, general nervousness, impotence, convulsions, and epilepsy.
That’s right. This fact is extensively documented in the historical literature. The idea started in the 1890’s that masturbation was a dirty vile habit that needed to be stopped. Medical experts from across America began promoting circumcision to parents as a way to prevent masturbation. The “experts” led parents to believe that masturbation would cause mental insanity and was also the root cause of many diseases. Notable people of the day like John Harvey Kellogg wrote in his book, “Plain Facts for Young and Old,” about curing masturbation, “A remedy which is almost always successful in small boys is circumcision, the operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering an anesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will have a salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected with the idea of punishment.”
Circumcision Overview: Circumcision is a surgical removal of the natural foreskin from the penis. The foreskin covers the head of the glans penis. This removal of the foreskin is one of the most common surgeries done to baby boys – in America. This hospital operation is typically done within one or two days after birth. Left undisturbed, that foreskin will grow into 15 square inches in the adult male. Therefore the decision to circumcise a baby is a serious consideration for parents to make. The procedure rates have been dropping in America. Most medical groups have stated there is no clear cut benefit, and the surgery is very painful to a baby. For many of the Jewish or Muslim faith, cutting and removal of the foreskin is an ancient religious act of faith, sacrifice, or covenant. Find extra information on circumcision.
Circumcision is often performed on infants without anesthetic or with a local anesthetic that is ineffective at substantially reducing pain (Lander et al., 1997). In a study by Lander and colleagues (1997), a control group of infants who received no anesthesia was used as a baseline to measure the effectiveness of different types of anesthesia during circumcision. The control group babies were in so much pain—some began choking and one even had a seizure—they decided it was unethical to continue. It is important to also consider the effects of post-operative pain in circumcised infants (regardless of whether anesthesia is used), which is described as “severe” and “persistent” (Howard et al., 1994). In addition to pain, there are other negative physical outcomes including possible infection and death (Van Howe, 1997, 2004).
Founder Anthony Losquadro combined his leadership and marketing skills from both his military and business career to create a game changing organization. He amassed a reference library on circumcision, its history, anatomy, and hundreds of medical studies, data, articles, and books, from 1890 to the present day. He would apply that knowledge to this challenging cause where big money, habituated cultural practices, cognitive dissonance, sex, religion, and human rights are intertwined. This reach for profits was inflicting unnecessary pain and trauma upon innocent babies born in America. It places PROFIT over HIPPOCRATIC OATH. It damages and disfigures men’s bodies. It can affect quality of life. It can inflict emotional and psychological harm. Read even more info at https://intaction.org/.