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CIRC: TS Genital Pain July/August 1989
http://www.violence.de/prescott/truthseeker/genpl.html
Revised3 12.8.14
CIRC Testimony CDC [Docket No. CDC?2014?0012]
The biomedical profession has insufficiently recognized the long-term psychological
damage inflicted upon young children who are circumcised without their consent.
David Levy in a 1945 study on the "Psychic Trauma of Operations In Children" reported
on three cases of male circumcision at ages 12 months (2 cases) and at 6 years.
Psychological trauma included the development of night terrors, temper tantrums and
rage. In the 6 year old suicidal impulses developed. Levy reports:
"... a circumcision at the age of 6 years 7 months, was preceded by a struggle of the
patient with his father and the anesthetist before they overpowered him. Immediately
after the anesthesia wore off, he said over and over, "They cut my penis. I wish I were
dead." The rest of the day the patient never left his mother's side. Thereafter his
previous temper tantrums [continued on developed into destructive rages. During the
treatment he played numerous killing games, in which his father was the principal
victim. The operation represented a castration by his father." (p. 10).
Levy, D. M. (1945): Psychic Trauma Of Operations In Children. American Journal of
Diseases Of Children (January) 69, (1), 7-25.
The CDC requests:: These recommendations are intended to assist health care
providers in the United States who are counseling men and parents of male infants,
children and adolescents in decision making about male circumcision. Such decision
making is made in the context of not only health considerations, but also other social,
cultural, ethical, and religious factors.
The study by Levy (1945) is a cautionary warning of the high risk of psychological
damage associated with the circumcision of young children, which must be avoided until
the age of consent is reached.
Other social, cultural, ethical, and religious factors that must be considered are
summarized in the Tables below and should be shared in any final report that the CDC
generates for the guidance of counselors of circumcision of infants and the very young.
The scientific and clinical evidence are clear that the benefits DO NOT outweigh the
risks,"
From: Prescott, J.W. (1989) Genital Pain vs. Genital Pleasure: Why The One and Not
The Other? The Truth Seeker, July/August 1989, pp. 14-21
[URL REMOVED] http://www.violence.de/prescott/truthseeker/genpl.html
The finding in Table 1 (above article) that links male circumcision in tribal cultures to:
High god supports human morality
High god is present
Exclusively Patrilineal
% Communality
64
54.
69
P
.000
.0009
. .0000
N
86
257
325
raises the question of conflict between religious believes and practices and HUMAN
RIGHTS that transcend religious believes and practices.
Robert F. Drinan, S.J. (2004) in CAN GOD & CAESAR COEXIST?: Balancing Religious
Freedom & International Law.Yale University Press., stated?
Some of the rules articulated by the world's major religions, however, continue to
subordinate women"...Of course, some practices have been utterly discredited; one
could point to the new awareness of and protection against female genital mutilation."
(p.135) and
In at least one case, the United States granted asylum to a woman who was threatened
with genital mutilation in her country of origin. The court held that female genital
mutilation is a form of torture--a practice absolutely prohibited by international law."
p.143).
(U.S. Federal Law makes female genital mutilation a crime and baby boys/children are
protected by ?the equal protection of the laws? of the 14th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. [URL REMOVED] .
Are there other beliefs, traditions, and practices injurious to women that would also
merit condemnation?" (p.143).
The CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women)
condemns all of the handicaps and disabilities that women have inherited from the
centuries during which they were treated by custom and by law as inferior, or at least
subordinate, to men" (p.140).
"The relationship of church and state was a thorny problem both before and after Christ
told his listeners to render to God what is God's and to Caesar what is
Caesar's."(p.145).
[URL REMOVED]
raises the question of conflict between religious believes and practices and HUMAN
RIGHTS that transcend religious believes and practices.
THERE IS NO RELIGIOUS RIGHT TO INFLICT HARM OR INJURY (PAIN) UPON
ANOTHER PERSON.
HUMAN RIGHTS BEFORE RELIGIOUS RIGHTS must be affirmed by the CDC.
James W. Prescott, Ph.D.
BioBehavioral Systems
1140-23 Savannah Road
Lewes, DE 19958
302.645.7436
301.318.3178 cp
jprescott34@comcast.net
[
Uploaded File(s):
?GM*-TS.pdf
Uploaded File(s):
• CIRC* TS GM 2.jpg
• CIRC TS Genital Pain July 1989.doc
This information will appear on Regulations.gov:
First Name: Anonymous
Last Name: Anonymous
A questionnaire I developed was administered to 96 college students whose average age was
19 years. The results of the questionnaire support the connection between rejection of physical
pleasure (specifically, premarital and extramarital sex) with expression of physical violence.
Respondents who reject abortion, responsible premarital sex, and nudity within the family were
likely to approve of harsh physical punishment for children and to believe that pain helps build
strong moral character. These respondents were likely to find alcohol and drugs more satisfying
than sex. The data obtained from the questionnaire provide strong statistical support for the
basic inverse relationship between physical violence and physical pleasure. If violence is high,
pleasure is low, and conversely, if pleasure is high, violence is low. The questionnaire bears out
the theory that the pleasure-violence relationship found in primitive cultures also holds true for a
modern industrial nation. The First Factor accounted for 66.6% of the variance in the Principal
Components analysis. Punishment of Abortion, a religious value, reflects the Abrahamic
Religions reciprocal inhibitory Pain/Pleasure Relationship, like Circumcision.
Table 5 shows, very high correlations between alcohol use and parental punishment indicate that
people who received little affection from their mothers and had physically punitive fathers are likely
to become hostile and aggressive when they drink. Such people find alcohol more satisfying than
sex. There is an even stronger relationship between parental physical punishment and drug usage.
Respondents who were physically punished as children showed alcohol-induced hostility and
aggression and were likely to find alcohol and drugs more satisfying than sex. The questionnaire also
reveals high correlations between sexual repression and drug usage. Those who describe premarital
sex as "not agreeable" are likely to become aggressive when drinking and to prefer drugs and alcohol
to sexual pleasures. This is additional evidence for the hypothesis that drug "pleasures" are a
substitute for somatosensory pleasures.
Violence and Pleasure:
The Attitudes of College Students
The reciprocal relationship of violence and pleasure holds true in modern industrial
nations as well as primitive societies. This theory was tested by means of a
questionnaire given to 96 college students (average age: 19). The results showed that
students who have relatively negative attitudes toward sexual pleasure tend to favor
harsh punishment for children and to believe that violence is necessary to solve
problems. The students rated a series of statements on a scale of 1 to 6, where 1
indicated strong agreement and 6 strong disagreement. Through a statistical technique
(factor analysis), a personality profile of the violent person was developed.
Table 5 shows the degree of relationship among the various statements which
reflect social and moral values. The figures at left, known as 'loadings,' are treated
like correlation coefficients. They indicate the strength with which each variable
contributes to the overall personality description of the respondent as defined by this
specific profile.
TABLE 5
.85
.81
.80
.76
.75
.74
.69
.54
.43
Somatosensory Index of Human Affection
Factor 1:66.6%
Violence Approved
Hard physical punishment is good for children who disobey a lot.
Physical punishment and pain help build a strong moral character.
Abortion should be punished by society.
Capital punishment should be permitted by society.
Violence is necessary to really solve our problems.
Physical punishment should be allowed in the schools.
I enjoy sadistic pornography.
I often feel like hitting someone.
I can tolerate pain very well.
Physical Pleasure Condemned
Prostitution should be punished by society.
Responsible premarital sex is not agreeable to me.
Nudity within the family has a harmful influence upon children.
Sexual pleasures help build a weak moral character.
Society should interfere with private sexual behavior between
.72
adults.
.69 Responsible extramarital sex is not agreeable to me.
.61 Natural fresh body odors are often offensive.
.84
.80
.78
.73
.47 I do not enjoy affectional pornography.
.42 I often get "uptight" about being touched.
.70
.65
.60
.49
.45
Alcohol and Drugs Rated Higher than Sex
Alcohol Is more satisfying than sex.
Drugs are more satisfying than sex.
I get hostile and aggressive when I drink alcohol.
I would rather drink alcohol than smoke marijuana.
I drink alcohol more often than I experience orgasm.
.82
.77
.51
.45
.40
Political Conservatism
I tend to be conservative in my political points of view.
Age (Older).
I often dream of either floating, flying, falling, or climbing.
My mother is often indifferent toward me.
I remember when my father physically punished me a lot.
p. 19, July/August 1989, The Truth Seeker
http://www.violence.de/prescott/truthseeker/genpl.html
Diminution of sexual pleasure is another major reason for circumcision in the Jewish religious tradition. This reason
is clearly stated by Moses Maimonides in the Guide of The Perplexed (1190), which merits its full reproduction:
ON CIRCUMCISION
"As regards circumcision, I think that one of its objects is to limit sexual intercourse, and to weaken the organ of
generation as far as possible, and thus cause man to be moderate. Some people believe that circumcision is to
remove a defect in man's formation; but every one can easily reply: How can products of nature be deficient so as to
require external completion, especially as the use of the foreskin to that organ is evident. This commandment has
not been enjoined as a compliment to a deficient physical creation, but as a means for perfecting man's moral
shortcomings. The bodily injury caused to that organ is exactly that which is desired; it does not interrupt any
vital function, nor does it destroy the power of generation. Circumcision simply counteracts excessive lust; for
there is no doubt that circumcision weakens the power of sexual excitement, and sometimes lessens the
natural enjoyment; the organ necessarily becomes weak when it loses blood and is deprived of its cover from the
beginning. Our Sages say distinctly: It is hard for a woman, with whom an uncircumcised had sexual intercourse, to
separate from him. This is, as I believe, the best reason for the commandment concerning circumcision."
(Part III, Chapter 49, emphasis added)
Elsewhere in the Jewish religious tradition clear warnings are given concerning the dangers of sexual pleasure. The
following quotations are taken from the Code of Jewish Law:
Chapter 150
The Sin of Discharging Semen in Vain
1: It is forbidden to discharge semen in vain. This is a graver sin than any other mentioned in the Torah. Those who
practice masturbation and cause the issue of semen in vain, not only do they commit a grave sin, but they are under
a ban, concerning whom it is said (Isaiah 1:15) "Your hands are full of blood," and it is equivalent to killing a
person. See what Rashi wrote concerning Er and Onan in the Sidrah of Vayeshev (Genesis 37), that both Er and
Onan died for the commission of this sin. Occasionally, as a punishment for this sin, children die when young, God
forbid, or grow up to be delinquent, while the sinner himself is reduced to poverty."
Chapter 151
Laws of Chastity
17. Semen is the vitality of man's body and the light of his eyes, and when it issues in abundance, the body weakens
and life is shortened. He who indulges in having intercourse, ages quickly, his strength ebbs, his eyes grow dim, his
breath becomes foul, the hair of his head, eyelashes and brows fall out, the hair of his beard, armpits and feet
increase, his teeth fall out, and many other aches besides these befall him. Great physicians said that one out of a
thousand dies from other diseases, while nine hundred and ninety-nine die from sexual indulgence. Therefore, a man
should exercise self-restraint.
The Roman Catholic Church is equally affirmative on the moral dangers of masturbation whose only purpose is
sexual pleasure. In the Vatican's "Declaration on Sexual Ethics", published by the Sacred Congregation For The
Doctrine Of The Faith (December 29, 1975), formerly the Holy Office of The Inquisition, the following is stated:
On Masturbation
9. The traditional Catholic doctrine that masturbation constitutes a grave moral disorder is often called into doubt
or expressly denied today. It is said that psychology and sociology show that it is a normal phenomenon of sexual
development, especially among the young.... This opinion is contradictory to the teaching and pastoral practice of
the Catholic Church. Whatever the force of certain arguments of a biological and philosophical nature, which have
sometimes been used by theologians, in fact both the Magisterium of the Church -- in the course of a constant
tradition -- and the moral sense of the faithful have declared without hesitation that masturbation is an intrinsically
and seriously disordered act.
Elsewhere, the Roman Catholic Church affirms the moral value of pain and suffering in The Spiritual Exercises of
St. Ignatius of Loyola (the founder of the Society of Jesus):
"The third kind of penance is to chastise the body, that is to inflict sensible pain on it. This is done by wearing hair
shirts, cords, or iron chains on the body, or by scourging or wounding oneself, and by other kinds of austerities"
(1541).
Many other examples could be cited, the most significant of which is the Crucifixion itself. God the Father's Divine
Plan of Incarnation for his Son: "So the Word was made flesh;" (John 1:14); and "I did not come of my own will; It
was He who sent me" (John 8:42) was a plan for the mutilation, torture and murder of His only-begotten Son on the
cross (euphemistically called "sacrificed") -- for the ulterior motive of human salvation! The ultimate
psychopathology of this event is equating this mutilation, torture and murder with LOVE! Clearly, Christian Love is
as much an expression of pain and suffering as pleasure. It is this fusion of pain and suffering with love that
forms one of the roots of sado-masochism which is so prevalent in monotheistic and patristic cultures.
Given the violence that this Father inflicted upon the Son He loved (and others), is it so surprising to find so much
violence of other Fathers inflicted upon their sons (and daughters)? If "Man"is made "Unto the Image and Likeness
of God", then the violence of "Man" becomes more understandable. Remember, it is this same God the Father that
demanded the torture of helpless male newborns through the ritual mutilating of their genitals, called circumcision -a practice that continues today in many monotheistic cultures.
Why was pain and violence and not pleasure and peace selected as the primary path for establishing the "bond"
between God and Man and for human salvation? In all His Wisdom, Power and "Love" could He not have found a
different solution to the enigma of human "salvation"? The answers to these questions lie elsewhere.
It should be recognized that the roots of the morality of pain and suffering and the immorality of physical
sensual/sexual pleasure antedate the Crucifixion and the rise of monotheism. These basic concepts existed in parallel
civilizations where, for example, the ancient Greek philosophers provided a clear metaphysical theory of good and
evil that was directly related to a moral theology of pain and pleasure.
Greek Metaphysical Dualism provided the following equations:
MATTER=Body , Evil, Wickedness, Darkness, Chaos = FEMALE;
FORM=Soul, Goodness, Godlike, Lightness, Order = MALE.
PETITION TO THE WORLD COURT, THE HAGUE
THE GREATEST CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY IS THE
TORTURE & MUTILATION OF CHILDREN
Dr. Judith Palfrey, M.D., Past President, American Academy of Pediatrics was
compelled to renounce the AAP Bioethics Committee’s policy statement on Ritual
Cutting of Female Minors with the following statement: ”The AAP does not endorse the
practice of offering a "clitoral nick”. This minimal pinprick is forbidden under federal
law...” 17 May 2010).
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/5/1088.full/reply#pediatrics_el_501
U.S. Federal Law makes female genital mutilation a crime and baby boys/children are
protected by “the equal protection of the laws” of the 14th Amendment to the
U.S.Constitution.
Moses Maimonides' in The Guide of the Perplexed (circa 1190)stated. “The bodily pain
caused to that member is the real purpose of circumcision” (III: 49).
http://www.violence.de/prescott/truthseeker/genpl.html
“The care of the body ought to precede that of the soul." (Aristotle, Politica. 350 B.C.)
"Forceable extraction of living body tissue causes revulsion to the judicial mind.” Judge
J. Flaherty (1978 http://www.violence.de/prescott/letters/McFall_v_Shimp.pdf
The Center for Disease Control must consider all the historical, legal, Constitutional,
biomedical, psychological and cultural factors involved in the genital mutilation of
Children, partly summarized herein, in rendering a policy decision on circumcision that
goes beyond the purview of medicine.
Central to this issue is the Morality of Pain and Pleasure in Human Relationships
and whether the few can by sacrificed for the many. Circumcision is not Vaccination.
8 December 2014
James W. Prescott, Ph.D.