A proposed ban on circumcision in SF?

sleepingbeauty825 · February 2011

Has everyone heard of this??

www.nbcbayarea.com/news/politics/116618063.html?1

My kid is uncut but this still gets a side-eye from me.

BFab11 · February 2011

I don't see that working, people would be up in arms about it. Perhaps widen education and information, but laws? No. Especially because it's religious for some people.

That's along the same lines of what's-her-face saying it should be the law that all women should BF.

ABColeslaw · February 2011

BFab11:
I don't see that working, people would be up in arms about it. Perhaps widen education and information, but laws? No. Especially because it's religious for some people.
That's along the same lines of what's-her-face saying it should be the law that all women should BF.

Gisele Bundchen

anabell0920 · February 2011

I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?

sleepingbeauty825 · February 2011

BFab11:
I don't see that working, people would be up in arms about it. Perhaps widen education and information, but laws? No. Especially because it's religious for some people.
That's along the same lines of what's-her-face saying it should be the law that all women should BF.

Apparently the proposed law says or will say that a man will be allowed to decide if he would like his foreskin removed when he is 18.

ABColeslaw · February 2011

Well remind me never to move to SF.

Hip2Bsquare · February 2011

Well I feel strongly on this subject but even I don't think there should be a law against it. I think our politicians need to stick to other stuff like saving the economy, bringing home the troops, but even that seems to too hard of a task..we can't even get them to come to work half the time so I will try not to get too up in arms over a PROPOSED law....because that can easily be in debate for years and be rewritten a ton before it even gets to the voting stage.

BFab11 · February 2011

ABColeslaw:
BFab11:
I don't see that working, people would be up in arms about it. Perhaps widen education and information, but laws? No. Especially because it's religious for some people.
That's along the same lines of what's-her-face saying it should be the law that all women should BF.
Gisele Bundchen

Yeah, what a twat. I'm all for BFing and have worked really hard to be able to provide that for C, but these types of things you just can't put in the government's control.

BFab11 · February 2011

sleepingbeauty825:
BFab11:
I don't see that working, people would be up in arms about it. Perhaps widen education and information, but laws? No. Especially because it's religious for some people.
That's along the same lines of what's-her-face saying it should be the law that all women should BF.
Apparently the proposed law says or will say that a man will be allowed to decide if he would like his foreskin removed when he is 18.

Wow. What a load of crap.

FTR, C is intact. Ana also made a good point about piercings.

ChargersLove · February 2011

anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?

Truthfully, I wish they would. Your baby doesn't need to look fashionable with her little ears pierced at 6 months old.

ABColeslaw · February 2011

chargerslove:
anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?
Truthfully, I wish they would. Your baby doesn't need to look fashionable with her little ears pierced at 6 months old.

I wouldn't pierce my daughter's ears as a baby, but I agree that it is cultural.

Mama_SAS · February 2011

From what I understand anyone in SF can get something on the ballot as long as they get enough signatures. This doesn't mean the politicians or city government of SF is in favor of this or pushing this at all. Same thing with the banning of Happy Meal toys a few months ago; it was a citizen trying to get it on the ballot, not city officials if I remember correctly.

I absolutely do not agree with it and don't see the point. You could easily take your kid outside city limits to have him cut, right?

ChargersLove · February 2011

ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?
Truthfully, I wish they would. Your baby doesn't need to look fashionable with her little ears pierced at 6 months old.
I wouldn't pierce my daughter's ears as a baby, but I agree that it is cultural.

If it's for religious/cultural reasons, okay, but 95% of the babies I see with their ears pierced have young mothers who most likely do it because they think it looks cute.

Totally off topic from circumcision. Sorry!

ABColeslaw · February 2011

chargerslove:
ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?
Truthfully, I wish they would. Your baby doesn't need to look fashionable with her little ears pierced at 6 months old.
I wouldn't pierce my daughter's ears as a baby, but I agree that it is cultural.
If it's for religious/cultural reasons, okay, but 95% of the babies I see with their ears pierced have young mothers who most likely do it because they think it looks cute.
Totally off topic from circumcision. Sorry!

But then its part of the young mother culture. My mother had us young. My sister and I both had our ears peirced as soon as we were home. It didn't kill me. Would I do it? No, I don't see the need. I also think it can be something special that a girl can choose as a symbol of getting older. But I don't think ear piercing is the same thing as circumcision.

Leggy · February 2011

That's what we do here. Ban things. Protest things. Waste a lot of tax payer $. You couldn't pay me to live anywhere else though!

ChargersLove · February 2011

ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?
Truthfully, I wish they would. Your baby doesn't need to look fashionable with her little ears pierced at 6 months old.
I wouldn't pierce my daughter's ears as a baby, but I agree that it is cultural.
If it's for religious/cultural reasons, okay, but 95% of the babies I see with their ears pierced have young mothers who most likely do it because they think it looks cute.
Totally off topic from circumcision. Sorry!
But then its part of the young mother culture. My mother had us young. My sister and I both had our ears peirced as soon as we were home. It didn't kill me. Would I do it? No, I don't see the need. I also think it can be something special that a girl can choose as a symbol of getting older. But I don't think ear piercing is the same thing as circumcision.

I guess the part that gets me, is that it is unnecessary. Why put a baby through pain, when there is no need for it. I suppose that could be said for circumcision as well though. Though, I do like the idea of ear piercing as something special for a Mother and a Daughter to do together, when the Daughter is old enough to appreciate it.

BFab11 · February 2011

The bottom line is, there are exceptions. They would have to give people a pass who were doing it for religious reasons, and once you have one exception, you're arguing over shades of gray because the issue is NEVER black and white.

Even if this did pass, there would be so many ways around it, at the end of the day it would've just been a huge waste of taxpayer's time and money.

If they want to reduce the circumcision rate, take all this effort they're putting into changing the law into an education campaign. I for one know that my docs didn't really go over the pros/cons/details of the circumcision procedure, and I think a lot of parents circumcise because they think that's just what you're supposed to do (I was one of them, then C couldn't be circ'ed right away and I ended up doing my research and being glad it couldn't happen).

ABColeslaw · February 2011

chargerslove:
ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?
Truthfully, I wish they would. Your baby doesn't need to look fashionable with her little ears pierced at 6 months old.
I wouldn't pierce my daughter's ears as a baby, but I agree that it is cultural.
If it's for religious/cultural reasons, okay, but 95% of the babies I see with their ears pierced have young mothers who most likely do it because they think it looks cute.
Totally off topic from circumcision. Sorry!
But then its part of the young mother culture. My mother had us young. My sister and I both had our ears peirced as soon as we were home. It didn't kill me. Would I do it? No, I don't see the need. I also think it can be something special that a girl can choose as a symbol of getting older. But I don't think ear piercing is the same thing as circumcision.
I guess the part that gets me, is that it is unnecessary. Why put a baby through pain, when there is no need for it. I suppose that could be said for circumcision as well though. Though, I do like the idea of ear piercing as something special for a Mother and a Daughter to do together, when the Daughter is old enough to appreciate it.

I took my little sister to get her ears peirced when she was 10. It was very special, she talks about it all the time. And if I had a daughter I would make it special like that too. No matter when you do it, its painful. The only difference is that babies forget the pain a few seconds after it dissapears, children remember it for far long. I'm not arguing for it. I'm just saying that "Pain" is a relative term.

ABColeslaw · February 2011

I didn't have a real opinion either way. I did the research and I even talked to a urologist. Both sides had compelling points. Phill was the one who said "My son will be circ'd" If we lived in a state that told him he couldn't have his son circ'd, we'd have moved.

I feel the same way about this argument as I do about abortion. I have my beliefs and I will live by them, but I have NO right to impose those beliefs on others.

sleepingbeauty825 · February 2011

I view circumcision and infant ear peircing to be similar procedures but many moms on here do not. I dont think that argument will hold water. Someone brought up a good point about just going outside of city limits to get it done. Also, bfab, I think you're right. My ped didn't take any time to talk to us about circumcision, but then again we were already decided so maybe he felt he didn't need to.

As a sidebar, we plan on peircing our daughter's ears as an infant.

ChargersLove · February 2011

ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
ABColeslaw:
chargerslove:
anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?
Truthfully, I wish they would. Your baby doesn't need to look fashionable with her little ears pierced at 6 months old.
I wouldn't pierce my daughter's ears as a baby, but I agree that it is cultural.
If it's for religious/cultural reasons, okay, but 95% of the babies I see with their ears pierced have young mothers who most likely do it because they think it looks cute.
Totally off topic from circumcision. Sorry!
But then its part of the young mother culture. My mother had us young. My sister and I both had our ears peirced as soon as we were home. It didn't kill me. Would I do it? No, I don't see the need. I also think it can be something special that a girl can choose as a symbol of getting older. But I don't think ear piercing is the same thing as circumcision.
I guess the part that gets me, is that it is unnecessary. Why put a baby through pain, when there is no need for it. I suppose that could be said for circumcision as well though. Though, I do like the idea of ear piercing as something special for a Mother and a Daughter to do together, when the Daughter is old enough to appreciate it.
I took my little sister to get her ears peirced when she was 10. It was very special, she talks about it all the time. And if I had a daughter I would make it special like that too. No matter when you do it, its painful. The only difference is that babies forget the pain a few seconds after it dissapears, children remember it for far long. I'm not arguing for it. I'm just saying that "Pain" is a relative term.

True, I can't imagine I will like hearing DD cry anymore now then I will in ten years. Okay, now I just don't think DD will be getting her ears pierced at all haha

Hip2Bsquare · February 2011

BFab11:
The bottom line is, there are exceptions. They would have to give people a pass who were doing it for religious reasons, and once you have one exception, you're arguing over shades of gray because the issue is NEVER black and white.
Even if this did pass, there would be so many ways around it, at the end of the day it would've just been a huge waste of taxpayer's time and money.
If they want to reduce the circumcision rate, take all this effort they're putting into changing the law into an education campaign. I for one know that my docs didn't really go over the pros/cons/details of the circumcision procedure, and I think a lot of parents circumcise because they think that's just what you're supposed to do (I was one of them, then C couldn't be circ'ed right away and I ended up doing my research and being glad it couldn't happen).

Am I allowed to be happy that you didn't end up going through with it?

On a side note...I was on Etsy and found a shop that sounded like you were the seller. Do you have an Etsy shop?

BFab11 · February 2011

Hip2Bsquare:
BFab11:
The bottom line is, there are exceptions. They would have to give people a pass who were doing it for religious reasons, and once you have one exception, you're arguing over shades of gray because the issue is NEVER black and white.
Even if this did pass, there would be so many ways around it, at the end of the day it would've just been a huge waste of taxpayer's time and money.
If they want to reduce the circumcision rate, take all this effort they're putting into changing the law into an education campaign. I for one know that my docs didn't really go over the pros/cons/details of the circumcision procedure, and I think a lot of parents circumcise because they think that's just what you're supposed to do (I was one of them, then C couldn't be circ'ed right away and I ended up doing my research and being glad it couldn't happen).
Am I allowed to be happy that you didn't end up going through with it?
On a side note...I was on Etsy and found a shop that sounded like you were the seller. Do you have an Etsy shop?

I'm glad, too. I cried in the car on the way to the doctor the day it was supposed to happen, and was so relieved when they couldn't do it.

And no, I don't want to pay Etsy's prices to sell stuff, lol.

PiRSquared330 · February 2011

ABC: do you have two sisters? You said your mom did yours and your sisters when you came home, but then you said you took your sister when she was 10. Did your mom chose to wait on one of your sisters? I'm curious as to why.

melody921 · February 2011

Yeah, I think this would pose a lot of problems. What about Jewish people who not only believe in it but make it into a religious ceremony? And as for us, we circumcised DS, so I wouldn't be pleased with a law telling us we needed to make another decision.

PiRSquared330 · February 2011

I'm almost willing to bet religion would get an exemption. thats basically a given.

Its San Fran. I bet about 2 kids a year are circed. (exageration). Do I think it should be law? No. But I doubt that there will be THAT big of an uproar in San Fran. The uproar is going to come from outsiders.

soko987 · February 2011

sleepingbeauty825:
I view circumcision and infant ear peircing to be similar procedures but many moms on here do not. I dont think that argument will hold water. Someone brought up a good point about just going outside of city limits to get it done. Also, bfab, I think you're right. My ped didn't take any time to talk to us about circumcision, but then again we were already decided so maybe he felt he didn't need to.
As a sidebar, we plan on peircing our daughter's ears as an infant.

An 80 year old patient off mine didn't die from urosepsis and a gangreous penis because he never had his ears pierced. Just saying.

( I love you I love you I love you!!!)

yankeebaby2 · February 2011

anabell0920:
I know it's not the same thing but will they ban piercing babies ears till 18 as well?

I chose to pierce Gaby's ears and did not circ either of the boys and never get this comparison.

simplyatomic · February 2011

It is none of my business what anyone else does with their child unless they are abusing them, just as it is no-ones business what we chose for our son. We did a lot of reading and made the choice that seemed like the best choice to us.

americanada · February 2011

i'm curious to see how other jews feel about this. i'm not jewish, but dh is. i still find it offensive. to make a law is like saying there is something wrong with it. then if there is a religious 'pass', can't anyone who wants to do it say they are doing it for religious reasons? then do you have to prove what religion you are? this is ridiculous!

PiRSquared330 · February 2011

americanada:
i'm curious to see how other jews feel about this. i'm not jewish, but dh is. i still find it offensive. to make a law is like saying there is something wrong with it. then if there is a religious 'pass', can't anyone who wants to do it say they are doing it for religious reasons? then do you have to prove what religion you are? this is ridiculous!

are school rules (with religious exemptions) offensive to Christian Scientists? What about state laws against smoking pot? Are those offensive to certain native american tribes that get exemptions?

sleepingbeauty825 · February 2011

soko987:
sleepingbeauty825:
I view circumcision and infant ear peircing to be similar procedures but many moms on here do not. I dont think that argument will hold water. Someone brought up a good point about just going outside of city limits to get it done. Also, bfab, I think you're right. My ped didn't take any time to talk to us about circumcision, but then again we were already decided so maybe he felt he didn't need to.
As a sidebar, we plan on peircing our daughter's ears as an infant.

An 80 year old patient off mine didn't die from urosepsis and a gangreous penis because he never had his ears pierced. Just saying.

( I love you I love you I love you!!!)

You never know what would have happened if he got his ears peirced!

No but seriously, i know you're right. There are more cases of bad things happening to penises from lack of circ than happening to ears from lack of sparklies.

Fuzzy8252 · February 2011

I grew up and lived in the Bay Area and I'm seriously not surprised by any of this. Crazy peeps.

missdanib · February 2011

I think that EVERYONE should have the ability to vote in a SF election at least once. You should see the stuff on the ballot!

CTri17 · February 2011

oh dear, I mean if we have a boy he'll be uncut, but making it the law? Why?

That makes no sense.

ABColeslaw · February 2011

PiRSquared330:
ABC: do you have two sisters? You said your mom did yours and your sisters when you came home, but then you said you took your sister when she was 10. Did your mom chose to wait on one of your sisters? I'm curious as to why.

I come from a mixed family. My little sister is the child of my foster parents. So yeah different moms.

sleepingbeauty825 · February 2011

StarAnnice:
simplyatomic:
It is none of my business what anyone else does with their child unless they are abusing them, just as it is no-ones business what we chose for our son. We did a lot of reading and made the choice that seemed like the best choice to us.

This, exactly. My boys are circ'd, if I ever have a girl, I'll pierce her ears as a baby. My mom used sleepers on me, at a young age, and it was terribly painful. I would rather she have just taken me as a baby to get pierced. I do have a high pain tolerance, and multiple tattoos. However, a couple hours of pain is completely different than days of pain (tattoos vs. sleepers).

That said, do I think that those who don't get their son's circ'd are idiots? No. Do I applaud those who do (as Hip did for Bfab for not circ'ing)? No. I really don't care about your kid's penis or ears or why you made the decision to do what you did.

As for the law, I think it's unneccessary. If people are so anti-circ, then perhaps they should provide more education to those having boys and let the parent decide.

What's a sleeper? Don't you dare tell me to google it.

amanda31H · February 2011

sleepingbeauty825:
BFab11:

I don't see that working, people would be up in arms about it. Perhaps widen education and information, but laws? No. Especially because it's religious for some people.

That's along the same lines of what's-her-face saying it should be the law that all women should BF.

Apparently the proposed law says or will say that a man will be allowed to decide if he would like his foreskin removed when he is 18.

Has anyone on here ever met a man who had his foreskin removed in early adulthood?

I have. His story was enough to convince me to circumcise my son, if I ever have one. He got some kind of infection, and had to have it removed while he was in school at West Point. Incredibely painful, he had to keep leaving class to go soak his man parts in a cup of water, and the pain went on for weeks. He told me that in his opinion, he would circumcise his son when he was born to spare him from what he went through (pain and embarassment), even though the chances were slim that his son would experience something similar.

If you choose not to circumcise, fine. I think it's a personal decision and would never judge someone either way. But I'd never met anyone who had to have it done later in life until a few years ago, and it was interesting to hear that perspective.

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