Friday

at the circumcision

I oppose circumcision, even for religious reasons. I think the decision is one a man should make on his own, not have his parents make for him as an infant.

But I've always wondered how I would handle it if my husband were Jewish and felt really strongly about having our son circumsized. And I wondered what it would be like to watch my baby be circumsized, as people do every day.

This is a very MOVING ACCOUNT of one mother's reluctant agreement to allow her son to be circumcized in a traditional bris out of regard for her Jewish husband's wishes.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where's the moving part? As opposed to the creepy part, or the horrifying part?

Anonymous said...

we kept our boys intact, but if we had gone the circ root we would have had a moil do it...truth is most of our friends also kept their boys intact...we aren’t gunna pierce our little girls ears either...well make it a big deal when she’s 10 or so...i guess.
i dont know, did you pierce your girls ears katie?

Leslie said...

That was heartwrenching.

I've been to a bris. The mother had to stay out of the room till it was over. I couldn't see, only hear the baby crying, and I stood there and cried.

I had my first two boys "done" even though I felt uncomfortable because my husband wanted it and all the other usual reasons. I became educated and held firm on my wish to keep our third son natural and finally won my husband over.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. I'm glad I've never been in that position, to have to consider it because of my husband's deep held beliefs. All three of our boys are intact.

It reminds me of when our oldest son was in the hospital after the birth (or was it Jack, the middle son? embarassing that I can't remember). I had told the nurses and doctors several times that we did NOT want the baby circumsized, no, no, no, and signed the paper that said so.

When Aunt Del was over to see the baby in the morning, the nurses had taken him briefly to weigh him and stuff in the nursery, and I had to call twice to ask them to bring him in so she could see him.

The second time, the nurse said casually, Oh, we'll bring him in a few minutes. We're about to circ him.

AAAAHHHHH!!!! Thank goodness Aunt Del was there and insisting to hold the baby.

Anonymous said...

How is it moving!? SHe let her boy be mutilated. Pathetic, cowardly and un-motherly.