Michigan nonprofit protests male circumcision on Woodward Avenue

Amid recent national headlines regarding female circumcision, a Michigan nonprofit is rejecting a practice much less taboo in American society today: male circumcision. 

A couple dozen people gathered Saturday for a protest hosted by NOCIRC of Michigan to march alongside a bustling Woodward Avenue near Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, educating the public on male circumcision — a practice the group's founder called "archaic," "barbaric," and "a mutilation." 

Some passing drivers waved or gave a thumbs up, some honked, some yelled profanities and many stared at the men, women and children who protested, some of whom donned white bodysuits with a red stain on the crotch and held signs that read "ONLY QUACKS CUT HEALTHY CHILDREN," and "Cut a Girl, Go to Jail! Cut a Boy, Get Paid!"

Norm Cohen, founder of NOCIRC of Michigan, said there are many benefits to "staying intact."

First and foremost, "You get to have a whole penis. Most men want a whole penis," Cohen said. 

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The foreskin is the most sensitive part of the penis, he added, and is "mechanically extremely useful for sexual intercourse."

"We evolved as mammals with a foreskin. We don't have any extra parts — it's there for a reason," Cohen said. "This an ancient ritual that predates medicine. ... It's not done with consent. There is no other part of the body that is cut preemptively without a diagnosis."

Michigan has male circumcision rates of about 85% of men, Cohen said. For comparison, about 71% of American males, 91% of Israeli males and 97% of Saudi Arabian males are circumcised, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

Male circumcision was promoted in America by John Harvey Kellogg, founder of the Michigan-based cereal company bearing his last name, Cohen said. Kellogg advocated for circumcision as a way to avert masturbation. 

Protester Nora Plank said she began to doubt the practice of circumcision when she birthed her son 30 years ago. A midwife gave her a brochure against circumcision and Plank decided to keep her son intact. 

"Before that, I thought everyone in the world did it," she said.

Jerry Boor, a NOCIRC of Michigan board member, called circumcision a "human rights issue, regardless of faith." He pointed to the protesters in attendance who come from different religious backgrounds. 

Progressive Jews are designing ceremonies that honor the tradition without harming boys, Cohen said. 

"You can remain Jewish or Muslim and not do circumcision," he said.

Cohen said there should be as much outrage over male circumcision as there is for female circumcision. 

More:Judge dismisses female genital mutilation charges in historic case

He said the female genital mutilation case out of Michigan last year "is less severe than any male circumcision." In that case, two Michigan doctors and six others were charged in the circumcision of nine minor girls, some of whom cried, bled and screamed during the procedure. A federal judge dismissed the landmark case in November 2018, declaring U.S. law barring the practice unconstitutional.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which in 2012 suggested circumcising males is beneficial, has a "conflict of interest" in doing so, Cohen said. The academy states male circumcision lowers the risk of contracting AIDS, lowers the risk of urinary tract infections and prevents foreskin infections. 

"They make money off of the practice, Cohen said. 

Cohen said he hopes that people driving by who heard NOCIRC's message for the first time further their research on male circumcision. 

"I love to hear from the mothers and fathers, who because of NOCIRC, decided to keep their boys intact," he said. "That really tells me we're making a difference. Those boys will probably never come to thank me, but I know that I, and the organization, have changed the world." 

Contact Omar Abdel-Baqui: 313-222-2514 or oabdelbaqu@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarabdelb