Orlando newspaper covers Capitol demonstration
 
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 00:20:06 -0500 (CDT)


It would be interesting to see what those "wire services" sources
say. I'll watch my Google alerts to see what comes up.

Please see:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/health/orl-healthcheck0307apr03,0,3970376.column?%20coll=orl-%20health-headlines

One man's crusade to end circumcision gains support By  Robyn
Shelton, Orlando Sentinel Published April 3, 2007

It started out with David Wilson holding a sign on the steps of the
Supreme Court building in Washington.

But his one-man demonstration against circumcision has grown through
the years to include a small crowd advocating an end to the practice
for infant boys.

Wilson, who organized the 14th annual "March Against Infant
Circumcision" for this past weekend, runs a lawn-care business and
a Web site at StopInfantCircumcision.org. The Cocoa Beach man hopes
the government will outlaw the procedure -- following existing laws
that prohibit the surgical alteration of female genitalia.

His crusade has taken him from Washington to Tallahassee to the
international realm of the Internet. He thinks the movement is
growing.

"There are people and organizations all over the world fighting
this," says Wilson, 53. "Already, parents have started to doubt
this procedure."

But circumcision remains common in the United States, with government
statistics indicating 1.10 million hospital-based circumcisions
were performed in 2004 (the most recent year available).

The practice is rooted in U.S. culture and mandated by some religions
-- the Jewish and Islamic faiths, for example. Medical groups often
send mixed messages. The American Academy of Pediatrics declared
in 1999 that it does not recommend routine circumcision of baby
boys. Yet, it concluded, parents need to decide what is in the
child's best interest.

Just last week, the United Nations came out in favor of circumcision
as a way to reduce the spread of HIV among heterosexual men. The
recommendation is based on studies showing circumcised men are less
likely to acquire the virus from infected women.

The issue remains hotly debated. Wilson hopes to keep fanning the
discussion.

"A lot of parents come up to us at the demonstration and talk to
us," Wilson says. "Many of them say that they never thought about
it . . . that they just assumed it was the best thing to do."

[part of story on hookah smoking omitted]

Information from wire services was used in this report. Robyn Shelton
can be reached at rshelton@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5487.