Circumcision Protesters Picket Obstetricians in Philadelphia

The fourth annual Genital Integrity Awareness Week is in Philadelphia May 1-7 with demonstrations at the Pennsylvania Convention Center lead by the International Coalition for Genital Integrity (ICGI) picketing the national conference of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for performing non-therapeutic infant circumcisions.

(PRWEB) April 27, 2004 --Obstetricians and gynecologists perform half of the circumcisions in the United States. Technically, they are trained only to deal with female anatomy, yet they have published a male circumcision brochure that explains the benefits of the male genital surgery they are willing to perform for $350 or more each. Seven out of eight OBs in the Northeastern states perform circumcisions. Activists will be demonstrating outside the ACOG convention to remind obstetricians they took an oath to "First, do no harm." By performing unnecessary circumcisions, obstetricians are violating their oath, risking litigation, and putting their patients at short-term and long-term risk, plus the disadvantages of being circumcised.

"We are focusing on the rights of every child to an intact body," ICGI director Dan Bollinger says.

ICGI is joined with Stop Infant Circumcision Society (SIC Society), and National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC) in a week of activities (May 1-7) with marches, demonstrations, and an education fair.

Demonstrations will be at 12th and Arch Streets.

A Federal law protecting girls from genital cutting was passed in 1996 and activists are asking for equal protection for boys and intersex children.