Separated at Birth

That was absolutely shocking, i don't know how she could put her baby through all that pain

To Alana & your Husband - How appauling, I don't know how you two live with yourselves everyday? This is non other than "child abuse" in my opinion. Paul Shearer has summed this topic up quite nicely and therefore I back everything he has said 100%

I am utterly disgusted that in this day of age circumcision is allowed to continue. I can understand historically that circumcision ensured sanitation, but in modern societies personal hygiene is not difficult to achieve. How is it possible for parents to commit such a horrific crime on such a beautiful defenseless little baby? I don’t see the difference between this and child abuse. It amazes me what people can still get away with under the name of culture and religion. I think the father needs to take a look at his own manhood, what he has done to that child is pathetic and inhumane.

Alana - If any culture requires infant genital cutting, that is a flaw in the culture, one we may hope humanity will soon overcome. Chinese culture has given up footbinding, Maori culture cannibalism, Paalangi culture slavery, torture, bear-baiting, child labour and many other evils, and we don't miss them. Why should an accident of birth determine how much of his genitals he may keep? No, I don't have a medical background, but enough biology to read and understand the studies of neonatal reaction to pain. Doesn't it tell you something that the vast majority of NZ doctors refuse to cut the gentials of babies without pressing medical need? (And if they're girls, it's illegal.)

Hugh - don't judge me - if you had watch the programme it was for cultural reasons firstly from our point of view as my husband is Samoan! Secondly - do you have a medical background? As you were not there how would you know if he was "in shock" - its amazing how TV can be a powerful medium of misconception! 60 minutes failed to put the rest of the footage in the doco of after the proceedure.

I fainted while watching that.

Bonnie and Sandy, your comments are born of fear. Babies, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children have zero risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Do I need to explain to you why? Circ is scam surgery. Plenty of men are upset with circ. Why didn't 20/20 interview some of them? I just want the penis I was born with. Is that too much to ask of a mother and father?

As a child of Jehovah's Witnesses, my parents would have fought to let me die if I had needed an organ transplant or a blood transfusion. All in the name of a set of religious beliefs that, as an adult, I do not believe. Forcing genital mutilation on an innocent child might not be as final, but it is just as unacceptable. Let the child choose. I am circumsized and, as an an adult, I am disgusted that my parents subjected me to this cultish ritual.

Finally - a programme that recognises the equivalence of male and female genital cutting. It's illegal to make an incision on a girl's genitals even without removing any tissue, so why is it still legal to cut off the most sensitive part of a boy's penis? Let people decide for themselves as adults whether they want parts of their genitals cut off.

Like the claim that "circumcision is PROVEN to cut the rate of STDs", the claim that circumcision would reduce HIV in NZ is bunkum. Of 183 diagnoses of HIV in 2005, only 7 people (men and women) acquired HIV via heterosexual contact in NZ. While African RCTs showed reductions of 50% to 60% in HIV acquisition by circumcised men, the semi-protection that circumcision may provide in Africa cannot be applied to NZ, where men are less likely to engage in multiple concurrent relationships or with CSWs, and men and women in general are more likely to practise safe sex. It makes no sense to circumcise the 32,000 boys born annually in NZ to potentially prevent 2 or 3 infections annually 20 or 30 years from now while simultaneously admitting at least 53 HIV+ immigrants to NZ from Zimbabwe alone, according to a report in today's news. Parents cite these bogus reasons for subjecting their boys to a barbaric procedure because the true reasons are even less rational.