Why isn't circumcision banned?
-
-
Replying to @BrittanyVenti
This is a great question Brittany, and I'm glad you asked it. Circumcision is practiced by three basic groups of people worldwide: 1) Jews 2) Muslims 3) Anglophones Jews and Muslims practice it as part of their religion. Anglophones for medical reasons.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @BoulosAlQans @BrittanyVenti
Muslims circumcise at about six years old, Jews at eight days, and Anglophones about one day old. It's not clear how and why Jews started doing it. Muslims picked up from Jews, basically, at the beginning of Islam. Anglophones only started doing it about 100 years ago.
2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @BoulosAlQans @BrittanyVenti
Anglophones is the population we're dealing with. In that context, the basic answer to why circumcision isn't illegal is the same as why appendectomies aren't illegal: because it's viewed as a legitimate medical procedure.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @BoulosAlQans @BrittanyVenti
Why is it viewed as a legitimate medical procedure? Because during the First World War, American military doctors noted the frequency of penile infections in circumcised GI's was lower than intact men. So they started prescribing circumcision as a way to prevent balantitis.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
So eventually circumcision became the standard for American soldiers, and that standard of care spread to civilian hospitals. Like tonsillectomies, circumcision became something people who cared about their children's health ensured were done.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.