Letter to Nurse Educators from Rosemary Romberg

Dear Nurse Educator,

I am writing to inform you that NOCIRC has produced a 20-minute
educational video about circumcision, narrated by Dean Edell, M.D.,
which you can view at http://www.nocirc.org/ You have NOCIRC’s
permission to download, copy, and distribute this free video for
educational purposes. Please consider uploading it to your own
website, if desired.

In addition, a Circumcision Resource page has been developed for
educators at http://www.icgi.org/birth_care_providers.htm Here you
will find videos, articles, and pamphlets that discuss various aspects
of the circumcision decision, as well as care of the intact child.
Included is “The Prepuce,” a video produced by George Denniston, M.D.,
that discusses in detail the anatomy and functions of the foreskin.
A growing number of men who wish they had been left intact (not
circumcised) are benefitting from non-surgical foreskin restoration.
You can learn more about this at http://www.norm.org/

A “New York Times” article reported that the U.S. circumcision rate has
fallen from 56% in 2006 to 32.5% in 2009, according to the CDC. See
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/health/research/17circ.html?_r=2

Men when they turn 18 have the legal right to sue the doctor and
hospital that circumcised them unnecessarily as infants. One man has
already done that and received a financial settlement. See
http://www.cirp.org/news/mndnewswire04-29-03/

Recent news articles have reported on African studies that claim to
show that circumcision prevents HIV. Dr. Dean Edell discusses these
studies, and how they relate to our own experience in the U.S. at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlsUg0sdAtE

The Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) on May 27, 2010 published
its policy statement, which states that the circumcision of underage
boys should be stopped. The society says that circumcising boys
without medical reason infringes upon the right to autonomy and the
right to bodily integrity. The KNMG statement can be downloaded and
read at
http://knmg.artsennet.nl/Diensten/knmgpublicaties/KNMGpublicatie/Nontherapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-2010.htm

I hope the materials above will be useful to you in your efforts to
educate future nurses about proper care of the genitally intact child
and circumcision. Please feel free to share this information with your
colleagues. I would be interested in your impressions of these
educational materials, if you wish to share them with me.

Sincerely, Rosemary Romberg
rosemary@gci.net

3 comments:

roger desmoulins said...

Was elated to see this post, because Rosemary's 1978 article in Mothering Magazine is the start of intactivism. Despite raising 5 children, she published in 1985 a 450 page book laying out her intactivist research (long out of print but partly available online). She was also the first woman intactivist, and is the founder of what has since become the dominant strain in our movement, namely the intactivism of concerned mothers of childbearing age.

Rosemary now has 6 grown children and is surely a grandmother by now. I salute the founder of our movement!

Mark said...

@armouris:

This 2003 paper in the Israeli Medical Association Journal
discusses circumcision and cervical cancer at length and says the following:

"Although the dispute over the association of circumcision and cervical cancer in various populations is still ongoing [23,24], there seems to be no hard evidence that circumcision prevents its occurrence in Jewish women, and it is no longer considered to play a protective role."

Jess said...

Circumcision doesn't prevent anything but normal, healthy, sexual function. Circumcising infant babies to possibly try and prevent anything is dangerous and a huge distraction. Safe sex; condom usage, monogamous relationships, abstinence, not smoking, ...THAT can safeguard against cervical cancer/penile cancer.
http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/letters/1996-02_ACS/