LOS ANGELES: Actress Alicia Silverstone shuns genital cutting

Times of Israel
May 4, 2014

Alicia Silverstone nixes circumcision

Jewish actress cites medical studies in speaking out against performing a 'brit'
by Aron Dónzis

Count actress Alicia Silverstone among those Jews advocating against circumcision.

In her new book, “The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning,” the celebrity explains her personal decision not to circumcise her son, Bear, according to the website Beyond the Bris: News and Views on Jewish Circumcision.

“I was raised Jewish, so the second my parents found out that they had a male grandchild, they wanted to know when we’d be having a bris (the Jewish circumcision ceremony traditionally performed 8 days after a baby is born),” Silverstone writes. “When I said we weren’t having one, my dad got a bit worked up. But my thinking was: If little boys were supposed to have their penises ‘fixed,’ did that mean we were saying that God made the body imperfect?”

The 37-year-old actress, best known for roles including the 1990s classic “Clueless,” offers a number of other explanations in her book in favor of preserving the male foreskin, including rejecting as outdated the notion that circumcision is a health precaution, and arguing that sexual pleasure is increased when the foreskin remains intact.

Silverstone grew up in a traditional Jewish household, the website explains. Candles were lit on Friday nights, she attended Hebrew school and has fond memories of her bat mitzvah. As an adult, her ties to Judaism remain strong.

“Judaism turned me into who I am today, and I definitely feel I live a very spiritual life. I got that from my parents,” she has said.

Silverstone has a blog, entitled The Kind Life, and another book on healthy eating.

NEW YORK: Hypospadias - rabbi botches circumcision

Courthouse News Service
December 5, 2013

Mom Claims Rabbi Botched Circumcision

by Nick Divito
BROOKLYN (CN) - A rabbi botched the bris of an infant who had a birth defect involving his penis, and then failed to preserve the foreskin, the boy's mother claims in Kings County Superior Court.

Rabbi Eliyahu Shain performed the bris on Benjamin Altman in December 2009 at New York University Medical Center's Pediatric Associates of New York City.

But the boy's mother, Staci H. Altman, says the mohel failed to recognize that the boy had hypospadias, a medical condition where the urethra develops [no, emerges] on the underside of the penis.

[Hypospadias is an absolute contraindication for circumcision.]

Since then, the boy's permanent injuries have caused him to suffer "great physical pain and mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life," according to the lawsuit.

The circumcision was allegedly performed "outside of a hospital or appropriate medical facility," ...

The boy's mother seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages for negligence.

...

TEL AVIV: New excuses for circumcision death

Israel Hayom
June 9, 2013

Baby dies eight days after losing consciousness following brit

Eight days after being hospitalized, the baby boy who lost consciousness immediately after being circumcised has died. The cause of death is still unclear, but apparently is not connected to the circumcision itself.

Jewish tradition mandates that boys be circumcised at eight days old in a ritual known as "brit milah."

The Edith Wolfson Medical Center in Holon reported that the infant had been hospitalized "in very serious condition of near brain death."

The birth of the boy, born to an ultra-Orthodox family from Bat Yam, was entirely normal, in the 38th week of pregnancy. At eight days of age, he was duly circumcised. About 30 minutes after the circumcision, when his mother tried to nurse him, the family noticed that he had stopped breathing and he was rushed to hospital.

The hospital spoke with the mohel who performed the circumcision to determine whether the child had been given any sedatives or anesthetics that could have caused an allergic reaction, or whether any excessive bleeding had been spotted. Both possibilities were ruled out.

The speculation that the boy had suffered from an undetected congenital heart defect was also ruled out, as was the possibility that he had choked to death after being fed.

The prevalent assumption among the medical staff who treated the child was that he had suffered from an undiagnosed metabolic or endocrine disorder, though no one was sure what had caused the boy's death. His family reportedly refused to allow an autopsy.

[If "a sharp drop in blood pressure resulting from shock trauma" can kill a 13-year-old girl, why not an 8-day-old boy?]

"This is a very sad incident," said a friend of the family, identified only as Abraham. "We pray that this couple will have more children soon."

Earlier story

TEL AVIV: Botched baby dies - circumcision exonerated again

But the circumcision didn't caused his death, oh no, that's impossible!


Jewish Press
June 7, 2013

Baby Dies in Israeli Hospital following Circumcision

The circumcision had actually been performed flawlessly, and apparently baby choked during feeding.

by Yori Yanover

A newborn baby who was hospitalized in serious condition at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, from complications following a rite of circumcision, passed away on Friday. Both Chief Rabbis and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel expressed their sorrow to the mourning family.

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel stated that “immediately after the initial report of the incident, the director of the dept. of circumcisions in the Chief Rabbinate was in constant contact with the mohel (ritual circumciser) who conducted the rite, with the doctors who treated the baby at the Wolfson Medical Center, and with the senior physicians who are members of the joint circumcisions committee of the Ministry of Health and the Rabbinate.”

It was reported by the rabbinate that “since the initial diagnosis, the doctors who treated the baby were convinced that the complication in the baby’s condition was not the result of the circumcision but resulted from a previously existing medical condition. Later treatments administered to the baby confirmed this determination.”

“An investigation revealed that the mohel who performed the circumcision is a veteran, certified mohel,” said the Rabbinate’s statement. “The mohel followed procedure and performed a test on the baby after the rite. Only about half an hour after circumcision did signs of the medical complication in the child began to appear, not related to the circumcision itself. The mohel accompanied the family to the hospital.”

A week ago, at about 11 AM, MDA paramedics were called to a synagogue in Holon, after an infant who had undergone a rite of circumcision there had stopped breathing and lost consciousness, shortly after the ceremony. The rescue crew took him to Wolfson Medical Center. After resuscitation in the hospital shock room, the baby’s condition stabilized.

Hatzolah volunteer Yehuda Mizrachi, who was among the first on the scene, told Channel 2 News: “We received a call about an unconscious baby. When I arrived I found a completely blue baby, not breathing and without a pulse. We started resuscitation and massaging, until the ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital.”

After investigating the circumstances of the case, it was discovered that the circumcision had actually been performed flawlessly, and apparently baby choked during feeding.

[So did he choke during feeding, or did he have a pre-existing medical condition? This is like the story of Susanna and the Elders.]

“The bris had concluded safely and then everyone sat down to eat,” Abraham, a friend of the family, related. “He was nursing from his mother and then she put him in his cart. At some point we noticed that the child was not responding and had turned blue.”

“One of the guests called the MDA, and with their guidelines performed a cardiac massage,” added Abraham, described the event. “Then the rescue team continued the efforts, along with the MDA.”

Earlier story

TEL AVIV: Botched baby in critical condition

Times of Israel
May 30, 2013

Baby in critical condition after circumcision

by Stuart Winer

Barely breathing boy rushed to hospital following ritual

A baby boy slipped into unconsciousness during a circumcision ceremony and was taken to hospital in a critical condition on Thursday.

The eight-day-old infant underwent the brit milah ritual at the Pinhas Lavon synagogue in Holon when he stopped breathing and lost pulse.

The family made desperate calls to Magen David Adom for an ambulance and to the Hazalah first response organization.

Medic Yehuda Mizrahi was first to arrive on the scene.

“When I arrived, the baby was completely blue, not breathing and with no pulse,” he told Channel 2, and described how he began resuscitation techniques, including massages to try to restart the boy’s vital systems. Finally an ambulance arrived and the infant was rushed to Wolfson hospital.

Doctors began investigating what might have caused the incident, including excessive blood loss, a congenital disease, or infection. [Hmm, I wonder. How about that wound on his penis?]

LONDON: Doctors slam MP for pro-circumcision stance

Secular Medical Forum
March 11, 2013

Secular Medical Forum challenges Ed Miliband's support for religious circumcision

by

The Secular Medical Forum has condemned Ed Miliband's recent support for the ritual genital cutting of children and called on the labour leader to rethink his stance on the issue.

On 7 March Ed Miliband told an audience in London that he supports the practices of brit milah – a Jewish religious male circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day-old male infants. In reference to ritual circumcision and kosher animal slaughter, the leader of the Labour party said: "These are important traditions … ways of life must be preserved".

The removal of a young boy's foreskin is commonly practised in the UK for religious reasons. The Secular Medical Forum (SMF) argues that the operation disregards autonomy and exposes the child to significant risks, including bleeding, infection and death. In a statement, the SMF said it questioned Mr Miliband's support for the "ethically flawed and medically dangerous" procedure.

Anthony Lempert, Chair of the Secular Medical Forum, said; "The first principle of healthcare is 'primum non nocere – first do no harm'. This guidance is disregarded by supporters of ritual circumcision.

"The Secular Medical Forum calls on Mr Miliband to focus squarely on the rights of vulnerable infants and children. Mr Miliband should prioritise the rights of children rather than harmful religious traditions. Mr Miliband should defend the weak, rather than preserve abusive traditions. He should not be misled by misplaced allegations of anti-semitism against those striving to protect children from harm."

In 2012, a German court caused international controversy when it found that parental consent to religious circumcision was in conflict with the best interests of the child, and ruled that parents do not have the right to circumcise their children without a medical reason. Following the court ruling, the government of Angela Merkel introduced legislation permitting the tradition.

A full statement from the Secular Medical Form can be found here.