Disputing need for circumcision

'Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised," God tells Abraham in Genesis.

But the head of the Circumcision Resource Center in Boston, which discourages circumcision, said that few Jews perform the procedure for religious reasons and that it is not necessary as a mark of Jewishness.

"Being circumcised is not distinctively Jewish, because Americans circumcise, Muslims circumcise," said psychologist Ronald Goldman, who has written two books on the topic.

Circumcision is common in the United States - the National Center for Health Statistics estimated that 65.3 percent of all male newborns in American hospitals in 1999 were circumcised - but is becoming increasingly controversial. Goldman maintains that the practice can cause physical and psychological damage.

Following are excerpts from an interview with Goldman last week.

Q. What percentage of Jews in America and worldwide circumcise?

A. I don't think anybody has those numbers. Being a lifetime Jew, [I know circumcision is] common practice. There's a lot written about this, historically and otherwise, that supports the statement that a large majority of Jews circumcise. But there's also historical support for questioning circumcision. For example, going back to the 1840s reform movement in Germany, there was a movement to oppose circumcision.

Q. The Bible says circumcision originated as part of God's covenant with Abraham. Forgive the flippancy, but what's your beef with Abraham?

A. I have no argument with religious Jews. They're not part of our audience. They're going to interpret that [text] literally and do exactly what it says. Taking on the fundamentalists - in Christian religion or Muslim fundamentalists - I don't think there's much chance of them changing their views.

Q. So what is your argument?

A. Let's start with the pain. There's strong evidence in the medical literature that circumcision is painful and traumatic. Some infants do not cry because they go into shock. There's research that shows infants exhibit behavioral changes after circumcision. No anesthetic is effective in eliminating pain. The complication rate has been reported anywhere from 1 percent to 38 percent. There's also the fact that circumcision removes a natural, functioning body part. Most circumcised men don't know what they're missing, because they haven't had sexual experience with a foreskin.

There's also an ethical issue. Jewish values place ethical behavior above doctrine, and a growing number of Jews recognize that it's unethical to inflict needless pain and trauma. Who has the right to cut off a functioning body part of another human being?

Q. What about the studies that say circumcision may cut HIV infection rates? Several persuaded the US Agency for International Development to favor it.

A. A Kenya report show[ed] that about 55 circumcisions were needed to prevent one HIV infection, and 54 out of 55 circumcised men receive no benefit.

Q. Given the African situation, where it's fair to call [HIV-AIDS] an epidemic, a one-in-55 prevention rate would save a lot of lives.

A. If you were an adult male and had the option of using a condom and getting virtually assured protection or having part of your penis cut off and getting a 1-in-55 chance of protection, I think the choice is clear.

Q. The counterargument is that we hope our children practice safe sex, but we also know they don't always take our advice.

Would you want someone else to make the decision . . . or would you want to reserve that choice for yourself.

Q. I'd prefer them to make that decision when I was an infant than for me to make it at the age of majority, when it would be many times more painful.

There was a poll that showed some men have strong feelings of anger, shame, distrust, and grief about having been circumcised. That in itself is new information to most people who study circumcision. Most circumcised men seem satisfied because they may not understand what circumcision is. I've heard circumcised men claim that nothing's cut off.

Q. On your website, you cite Hebrew Bible examples of leaders who didn't circumcise.

There is some inconsistency in the Torah around this. But that's not a core argument. I'm not looking to take on a religious discussion about this. Surveys have shown that Jews who interpret the Torah literally are in the 10-to-15-percent range. The bottom line is, let's have the open discussion.

Q. Are you circumcised? How did you get so passionate about it?

A. I am circumcised. I attended a Jewish ritual circumcision in the '80s. The baby screamed at the top of his lungs for 20 minutes. It was one of the most distressing experiences I have had.

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