Cutting to the Chase

Posted on the 03 October 2011 by Mikeb302000
Circumcision is not exclusively a religious medical procedure; some people are in favor of it for hygiene preferences.  
Foreskins from circumcisions, as a medical procedure byproduct, are used as one of the primary sources for growing skin used in skin graft procedures, particularly for burn victims.  Each foreskin can produce up to 4 ACRES of grafting tissue.  
Opponents of the procedure believe it amounts to the sexual mutilation of male infants.Yes? No? Should it be up to the parents, or should it be a procedure that is delayed until the child can express an opinion for himself (or.....herself)?  Does public health policy have a role to play in THIS decision?Or.........is this an exclusively religious decision? Is a ban on circumcision anti-Semitic?  Is a similar ban on female circumcision - religiously intolerant? Or does it not equate?
From Reuters and Yahoo.com: 
California prevents ban on male circumcisionBy Mary Slosson | Reuters – 3 hrs agoLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown announced on Sunday that he signed a bill preventing local authorities from banning the practice of male circumcision.The bill, which takes effect immediately, comes in the wake of an
effort by a San Francisco group opposed to male circumcision to enforce a
city-wide ban of the practice in a November ballot measure.
That effort was struck down in late
July by a California judge who said it would infringe on religious
freedom. The measure was removed from the November ballot.The measure, which garnered 12,000
signatures of support, would have made it a misdemeanor crime to
circumcise a boy before he is 18 years old in San Francisco, regardless of the parents' religious beliefs.A dozen petitioners sued to block
the initiative at the time. A similar effort in Santa Monica, west of
Los Angeles, was withdrawn.Circumcision is a ritual obligation
for infant Jewish boys and also a common rite among Muslims, who
account for the largest share of circumcised men worldwide.The move to outlaw circumcision in San Francisco raised alarm bells for Jewish groups.In June, the Anti-Defamation League
condemned a comic book created by supporters of the anti-circumcision
movement that it said contained grotesque anti-Semitic imagery. The
comic featured a character named "Monster Mohel" as an evil villain.A mohel is a Jewish individual specifically trained to perform the ritual circumcision of infant boys.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst)