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Date published: 10/21/2005
As a young mom who demonstrated outside the American Academy of Pediatrics conference recently in Washington, imagine my surprise to read Dr. Roxanne Allegretti's comments that "anti-circumcision" demonstrators were "mostly graying hippies" ["Sleeping carefully with kids," Oct. 16]. Perhaps Dr. Allegretti attended a different demonstration than I did. Most in attendance were parents with children at home, or have yet to have children. We do not fit the description of "hippies." I am thankful that I knew enough to keep my two young sons intact, and feel strongly that AAP members need to be protecting their male patients as they currently do female patients. Doctors claim they "hate circumcising, but parents insist." Yet if parents came in demanding a circumcision for their daughter, most doctors would have the courage to just say no. Boys deserve the same protection. Circumcision is painful and traumatic and has no medical justification. The foreskin has important protective and sexual functions. We who demonstrated outside the AAP are loving moms, dads, and caring citizens asking the AAP members to help us in our efforts to educate parents about the purposes of the foreskin, and encouraging parents to just leave the foreskin alone. And for the record, those of us outside the AAP are not "anti-circumcision." We have no problem with an individual choosing circumcision after being fully informed. We are concerned about the forced circumcision of others who might have made a different choice if given the chance to do so. I hope Dr. Allegretti will seriously consider the message Amber Craig Durham, N.C.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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