Parents in court over son's circumcision
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-15 10:15 Groups opposed to circumcision are watching the
case of an 8-year-old suburban Chicago boy whose divorced parents are fighting
in court over whether he should have the procedure.
The child's mother wants him circumcised to prevent recurring, painful
inflammation she says he's experienced during the past year. But the father says
the boy is healthy and circumcision, which removes the foreskin of the penis, is
an unnecessary medical procedure that could cause him long-term physical and
psychological harm.
"The child is absolutely healthy," the father said during a break in a court
hearing on the matter Wednesday. "I do not want any doctor to butcher my son."
The mother testified that her son has had five bouts of painful inflammation
and has begged her to help him. Her son cannot wear underwear or jeans during
the bouts and is comfortable only in loose-fitting pajamas, she said.
"My child was in the bathroom crying. He asked me to come in because his
penis did not look normal," she said, describing one of the episodes.
The couple's 2003 divorce decree gave the father the right to offer input on
medical decisions. Earlier this year, he sued to block the surgery and Cook
County Judge Jordan Kaplan ordered the mother not to have the boy circumcised
until he could hear from both parents and the opinions of doctors who've
examined the boy.
The Associated Press is not naming the parents to protect the child's
privacy. The father was born and raised in Poland. She is from Slovakia.
The case reflects a national debate over the medical necessity of
circumcision. In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics reversed its support
for routine infant circumcision, citing questionable benefits and medical and
anecdotal evidence that circumcised men have less penile sensitivity.
David Llewellyn, an Atlanta attorney who specializes in circumcision cases,
is helping the father's attorneys without fee. He called the surgery "a bizarre
American custom."
Most US newborn boys are circumcised before they leave the hospital. But a
growing number of parents are opting against the surgery. The percentage of male
babies circumcised has fallen from an estimated 90 percent in 1970 to about 60
percent today.
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