I recently wrote a letter to the German press in support of the Köln court decision which followed the heroic crusade by Prof. Dr. Holm Putzke to ban the practice of circumcision of non-consenting male minors. It was published in the Frankfurter Rundschau and was subsequently quoted by Prof. Putzke during a German TV debate hosted by Anne Will. The German version of my letter is posted on the Frankfurter Rundschau blog here: http://www.frblog.de/beschneidung/#comment-37687 and the Anne Will show can be viewed here: http://daserste.ndr.de/annewill/videos/annewill3507.html

The original English version of my letter reads as follows:

It is a sad fact that we are not able to choose our parents in this life. It is my personal belief that all infants, whether they be male or female, should enjoy the basic right to be born unto parents that do not feel it is their right to modify the genitalia of their offspring. My late parents felt that it was their right to condone my circumcision as an infant without medical necessity. This is something that has caused me considerable pain and anguish and I shall eternally regret. It should have been my own decision as to whether or not I chose to be circumcised as it is my body, and once it is done, it is done.

Children are in the custody of their parents until they reach maturity and are not their property. I would not have chosen to be the son of my parents if given the option. I am not Jewish or Muslim, but there are men I know of that were born into Jewish/Muslim families that also resent the fact that they suffered the same indignity of forced circumcision. The majority of men in this world are genitally intact and perfectly content with their status. I believe that there is a profound injustice that there is not formal legal protection for all infant boys against non-therapeutic circumcision (such as there is for girls), regardless of the religious zealotry of their parents.

I therefore rejoice in the recent landmark decision of the Köln court that the circumcision of non-consenting minors is to be banned and applaud the visionary and courageous efforts of Prof. Dr Holm Putzke on behalf of all those men who in the future can decide for themselves as adults.

Patrick Smyth

Cambridge UK

Tried to post the following comment on the San Diego Jewish World website today but then noticed that the webmaster had closed the article to any further comments. I wonder why? Have a look and see if you can figure it out.

http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2012/05/18/male-circumcision-is-a-kindness-to-future-sexual-partners/

My proposed comment:

I was circumcised at birth and lived for many years in ignorance of the truth about circumcision and the effect it has insidiously imposed on my life. I am now aware that this is because of the the ‘you don’t miss what you never had’ effect. For many years I had difficulty masturbating until I discovered that a lubricant helped considerably. To recently discover (now that I am over 50 years of age) that one of the main reasons that circumcision became so prevalent in the US and UK (where I was born) was to discourage masturbation is a gross insult to my dignity and an abuse of my rights to enjoy the body that I was born with as I see fit. My quality of life has been seriously impaired by my circumciser, both before I discovered the truth and now even more so. The shine has been taken of what is left of my sex life in the knowledge that most of my contemporaries have hitherto enjoyed and will continue to enjoy a sex life that is as nature intended, whereas mine is not.