The announcement by the AAP that circumcision is beneficial is now being uncritically re-printed in local papers around the World.

Please mail your local paper to inform them that the AAP is not un-biased, that they are in fact a trade union protecting the profits of their memebers who benefit from this unnecessary procedure.

You might also add in information about the bias that has been well-described on this site in the African studies which involved "researchers" with a vested interest in promoting the practice, lack of controls, different treatment of the control and non-controlled groups etc.

Edit: Keep your letters short, polite and to the point. Also include contact details as papers will phone you to confirm you as the author of the mail.

Edit 2: I am just sending this to the West Australian: I refer to your article concerning the American Academy of Pediatrics statement claiming benefits for circumcision (28 Aug). It should be noted that they are not a research organisation, they are a trade union whose mandate is to protect the profits of their members. Their members make enormous profits from this unnecessary practice. This is why they are making blatantly untrue statements such as "(circumcision) does not appear to adversely affect penile sexual function-sensitivity or sexual satisfaction." One would expect them to know the consequences of removing 20,000 - 100, 000 nerves.

The proponents of this practice have a long history of claiming nonexistent medical benefits (such as curing mental disorders) for it. Dr John Harvey Kellogg once said: “A remedy for masturbation which is almost always successful in small boys is circumcision. The operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering an anesthetic, as the brief pain attending the operation will have a salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected with the idea of punishment. In females, the author has found the application of pure carbolic acid to the clitoris an excellent means of allaying the abnormal excitement.” The current claims that it reduces the transmission of HIV are not born out by the relationship between the prevalence of the disease and the rates of circumcision either in Africa or The West. Don't let it put you off your corn flakes, just don't buy into America's medicine show.

anyone writing to the West Australian can use this email address: [email protected]

Now is the time to write to your local paper.

Edit 3: Please comment if you write to a paper and add the email address to use for the ease of other users of this subreddit.