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→Female Circumcision (FGM)
== Female Circumcision (FGM) ==
== Female Circumcision (FGM) ==
Female circumcision, practiced in parts of Africa, is a much different procedure that can have lasting effects on a girl's health.<ref>JAMA Vol. 274 No. 21, December 6, 1995 - Female genital mutilation. Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/274/21/1714]</ref> The procedure may range from a simple cut in the pubic region to the complete removal of parts of the female reproductive organs. While the procedure is an important part of some African cultures, there is increased pressure by women's groups worldwide to ban it. Female circumcision is often referred to in the medical community as [[Female Genital Mutilation]], or FGM.<ref>JAMA Vol. 274 No. 21, December 6, 1995 - Female genital mutilation. Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/274/21/1714]</ref>
Female circumcision, practiced in parts of Africa, is a much different procedure that can have lasting effects on a girl's health.<ref>JAMA Vol. 274 No. 21, December 6, 1995 - Female genital mutilation. Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/274/21/1714]</ref> The procedure may range from a simple cut in the pubic region to the complete removal of parts of the female reproductive organs. While the procedure is an important part of some African cultures, there is increased pressure by women's groups worldwide to ban it. Female circumcision is often referred to in the medical community as [[Female Genital Mutilation]], or FGM.<ref>JAMA Vol. 274 No. 21, December 6, 1995 - Female genital mutilation. Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/274/21/1714]</ref>
== Atheism, Judaism, circumcision and penile cancer ==
''See also:'' [[Atheism and penile cancer]] and [[The Bible and health]]
[[File:Prophet Moses.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The prophet [[Moses]] authored the book of [[Leviticus]] ]]
Max Neuberger, writing in his "History of Medicine" states concerning the Mosaic laws:
{{cquote|The commands concern prophylaxis and suppression of epidemics, suppression of venereal disease and prostitution, care of the skin, baths, food, housing and clothing, regulation of labour, sexual life, discipline of the people, etc. Many of these commands, such as Sabbath rest, circumcision, laws concerning food (interdiction of blood and pork), measures concerning menstruating and lying-in women, and those suffering from gonorrhoea, isolation of lepers, and hygiene of the camp, are, in view of the conditions of the climate, surprisingly rational.<ref name="Neuburger, Max 1910, p. 38">Neuburger, Max. History of Medicine. Oxford University Press, 1910, Vol. I, p. 38.</ref>}}
According to the American Cancer Society:
{{Cquote|Circumcision removes all (or part) of the foreskin. This procedure is most often done in infants, but it can be done later in life, too. Men who were circumcised as children may have a much lower chance of getting penile cancer than those who were not. In fact, some experts say that circumcision as an infant prevents this cancer. The same protective effect is not seen if circumcision is done as an adult.
The reason for the lower risk in circumcised men is not entirely clear, but it may be related to other known risk factors. For example, men who are circumcised can’t develop the condition called phimosis, and they don’t accumulate material known as smegma (see the next section). Men with smegma or phimosis have an increased risk of penile cancer. The later a man is circumcised, it's more likely that one of these conditions will occur first.
In weighing the risks and benefits of circumcision, doctors consider the fact that penile cancer is very uncommon in the United States, even in uncircumcised men. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that the health benefits of circumcision in newborn males outweigh the risks, it also states these benefits are not great enough to recommend that all newborns be routinely circumcised. In the end, decisions about circumcision are highly personal and often depend more on social and religious factors than on medical evidence.<ref>[https://www.cancer.org/cancer/penile-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html Risk Factors for Penile Cancer]</ref>}}
=== Jewish men, Israel, circumcision and penile cancer ===
The 2017 medical journal article entitled ''Incidence of penile cancer worldwide: systematic review and meta-analysis'' published in the ''Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health'' declared: "In contrast, rates among Jewish men born in Israel are reportedly very close to zero."<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6645409/ ''Incidence of penile cancer worldwide: systematic review and meta-analysis''], Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2017; 41: e117. Published online 2017 Nov 30. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2017.117</ref>
=== Soviet Union and male circumcision ===
[[File:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Joseph Stalin]]'s atheistic regime killed tens of millions of people. See also: [[Atheism and Mass Murder|Atheism and mass murder]] ]]
The [[Soviet Union]] practiced [[state atheism]].
[[Wikipedia]], an online encyclopedia founded by an atheist and agnostic, indicates:
{{Cquote|Before glasnost, according to an article in The Jewish Press, Jewish ritual circumcision was forbidden in the Soviet Union. However, David E. Fishman, professor of Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, states that, whereas the heder and yeshiva, the organs of Jewish education, "were banned by virtue of the law separating church and school, and subjected to tough police and administrative actions," circumcision was not proscribed by law or suppressed by executive measures. Jehoshua A. Gilboa writes that while circumcision was not officially or explicitly banned, pressure was exerted to make it difficult. Mohels in particular were concerned that they could be punished for any health issue that might develop, even if it arose some time after the circumcision.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Circumcision_and_law&oldid=965306904 Circumcision and law], Wikipedia</ref>}}
=== Secular Europe and male circumcision ===
''See also:'' [[Secular Europe]]
From a global perspective, [[Europe]] is more secular/[[Atheism|atheistic]] than the rest of the world although it does have a considerable amount of religious immigrants who have higher birth rates (see: [[Secular Europe]] and [[Atheist population]] and [[Global atheism]]).
Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia founded by an atheist and agnostic, indicates:
{{Cquote|On 1 October 2013, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a non-binding resolution in which they state they are "particularly worried about a category of violation of the physical integrity of children," and included in this category "circumcision of young boys for religious reasons." On 7 October, Israel's president Shimon Peres wrote a personal missive to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, to stop the ban, arguing: "The Jewish communities across Europe would be greatly afflicted to see their cultural and religious freedom impeded upon by the Council of Europe, an institution devoted to the protection of these very rights." Two days later, Jagland clarified that the resolution was non-binding and that “Nothing in the body of our legally binding standards would lead us to put on equal footing the issue of female genital mutilation and the circumcision of young boys for religious reasons.”<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Circumcision_and_law&oldid=965306904 Circumcision and law], Wikipedia</ref>}}
A number of male circumcision bans have been proposed by various Europeans.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Circumcision_and_law&oldid=965306904 Circumcision and law], Wikipedia</ref>
==References==
==References==