Honorable Judge Gillen,

I am writing to you as a plea for the little boy whose life as he knows it lies in your hands. This case is no longer about a parental dispute, a breach of contract or being in contempt of court, and you know it. This case is about a little boy, who has become a pawn, who is in jeopardy of losing not only a part of his perfectly healthy little body, but also his trust in his father and the entire world around him.

This is not an infant. This is a 4 year old boy, who is completely aware of himself and of his body. To force circumcision upon him would violate his body and his psyche. Dr. Charles E. Flack, the doctor questioned in this case has stated that the surgery is medically unnecessary, after initially fabricating a diagnosis of Phimosis (which cannot be correctly diagnosed in a child that is not fully retractable). How is his testimony to be trusted after he already lied about this child's medical situation? This doctor also stated that circumcision will prevent penile cancer, which is one of the rarest forms of cancer, and, according to the American Cancer Society, occurs in less than 1 in 100,000 men. It accounts for less than 1% of all cancers in men in the United States. Interestingly enough, the American Cancer Society also states that breast cancer in men is far more common, occurring in 1 out of every 1,000 men. Yet, we do not perform prophylactic surgery on children and remove their breast buds, even though the likelihood of breast cancer is far higher, for both men and women.

The American Cancer Society goes on to state that, "We would like to discourage the American Academy of Pediatrics from promoting routine infant circumcision as a preventative measure for penile or cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society does not consider routine circumcision to be a valid or effective measure to prevent such cancers..." From their webpage, the risk factors for penile cancer are HPV, smoking, AIDS and being age 55+, none of which are factors indicated in a 4 year old child.

I am appalled that this child is being used as a pawn by his father, and I plead with you to see beyond the "breach of contract." As parents we learn new things every day and sometimes those things make us change our minds regarding previous information that we held true. This mother made a hasty, uneducated decision when the child was born. She has since educated herself and simply changed her mind. We are human, we make mistakes, we learn from mistakes, we change our minds, we grow. If you force this non-therapeutic, unnecessary, cosmetic surgery upon this little boy, he could die or suffer from a botched operation, and if he survives, you are branding him for life, and telling him, with no words, that he has no rights or ownership over his own body. You are setting him up for a lifetime of believing that his body is not his own. Do you understand the implications of that belief? Children raised to not understand that their bodies are their own are far more likely to be molested and sexually abused, or grow to disrespect the bodies of others and become sexual predators or violent people in general.

This little boy was born perfect. He deserves his genital autonomy. Fine the mother for breach of contract, but do not force this child to sacrifice part of his healthy genitals to pay for his father's ego.