A new report (pdf) on operating room procedures in the US finds that the simple procedure of circumcision is still the second twentieth most costly procedure over all, largely because its prevalence makes it the second most common OR procedure in America (after cesarian section). There are, we discover, 1.1 million genital mutilations performed on infant boys in America every year, representing a total 7 percent of all operati0ns; and the total cost comes close to $2 billion a year. In the discussion of an elective procedure that permanently alters the most intimate parts of boys’ bodies without their consent, shouldn’t the sheer cost of it be a factor in weighing its merits?