Letters

2014

Letter to New York Times Editor: "Circumcision Benefits Outweigh Risks, Study Reports," by Nicholas Bakalar » Tuesday, April 8, 2014

On Tuesday, April 8, 2014, Steven Svoboda sent the New York Times a letter to the editor in response to their article, “Circumcision Benefits Outweigh Risks, Study Reports,” which uncritically promotes Brian Morris' latest article due to appear in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings Journal...

Non-Therapeutic Circumcision: The Problem of Advocacy-Based Medicine » Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Circumcision Is a Religious/Cultural Procedure, Not a Medical Procedure » Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Journal of the American Medical Association JAMA Pediatrics | Comment & Response | March 2014 J. Steven Svoboda, MA, JD

Circumcision: A Bioethical Challenge » Monday, January 20, 2014

J. Steven Svoboda, Executive Director, Attorneys for the Rights of the Child Robert S. Van Howe, M.D., M.S. "Professor Morris is a man on a mission to rid the world of the male foreskin."

2013

National Post Letter » Friday, October 4, 2013

ARC letter in response to Mark Joseph Stern's article, "'Intactivists' Against Circumcision" » Sunday, September 22, 2013

On September 22, ARC sent a letter to the National Post and to Slate in response to Mark Joseph Stern's horrific article, "'Intactivists' Against Circumcision," which appeared in Slate on September 18 (http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/09/...

ARC Letter to JAMA Critiquing Sugerman Article » Tuesday, September 10, 2013

We submitted the below letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on September 9, 2013, in response to its recent one-page pro-circumcision article by Deborah Tolmach Sugerman titled, "Male Infant Circumcision." Questions to Ask Regarding Infant Circumcision By J....

2012

ARC Submits Letter to Pediatrics Critiquing Circumcision Policy Statement » Thursday, September 6, 2012

We submitted the letter below to Pediatrics on September 6, 2012 in response to the recently issued American Academy of Pediatrics' Policy Statement on Circumcision.

ARC Letter to New York Times Re: "Benefits of Surgery Are Said to Outweigh Risks" » Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Re: "Benefits of Surgery Are Said to Outweigh Risks" (Augsut 27) To the Editor:

AAP Publishes Letter from ARC's Peter Adler in Response to New Circumcision Policy » Thursday, August 30, 2012

The New AAP Circumcision Policy: Wrong in Fact and Law Peter W. Adler, Attorney Attorneys For the Rights of the Child

ARC's Peter Adler - Letter to Pediatrics and New York Times » Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that the health benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks, that parents have the right to make the circumcision decision for religious, cultural, or other reasons, and that insurance such as Medicaid should pay for it. The AAP is wrong on...

ARC Board Member Angelucci Publishes Excellent Letter in LA Times » Friday, August 24, 2012

ARC Board Member Marc Angelucci had an excellent letter in the August 24, 2012 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Steven Svoboda Attorneys for the Rights of the Child

ARC Letter to New York Times Responding to Article About Testing Medical Practices » Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Comment on H. Gilbert Welch, "Testing What We Think We Know", Op-Ed Monday, August 20, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/opinion/testing-standard-medical-pract... It certainly makes sense as Professor Welch recommends (Op-Ed August 20) to learn which medical practices improve our...

ARC Letter to Pediatrics Published » Sunday, July 29, 2012

Pediatrics has published verbatim the letter we submitted. The letter appears along with other letters, published July 30, 2012, at the following URL: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/1/e175.abstract/reply

ARC Letter to Dan Savage's Savage Love Column » Saturday, February 18, 2012

On Friday, February 17, 2012, ARC sent the following letter to Dan Savage, gay-identified author of the syndicated sex-related column Savage Love. The letter is responding to some incorrect comments regarding male circumcision in the Savage Love column this week, made in response to a reader,...

Letter to the New York Times RE Aids Prevention and Circumcision » Tuesday, January 31, 2012

We sent a letter to the New York Times on January 31, 2012 in response to their article today entitled, "AIDS Prevention Inspires Ways to Make Circumcisions Easier" by Donald G. McNeil, Jr. The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/health/aids-prevention-inspires-...

2011

Marc Angelucci Joins ARC, Marc Publishes Op-Ed, ARC Issues Letter of Support » Wednesday, November 23, 2011

We are proud to announce that Los Angeles attorney Marc Angelucci has joined forces with ARC as our Gender Equity Strategist. Marc has done awesome work litigating on behalf of gender equity. He has also been extremely active as an intactivist in recent years, publishing a number of letters...

ARC Letter to JAMA » Tuesday, November 8, 2011

In response to Aaron A.R. Tobian and Ronald H. Gray's terrible recent article, "The Medical Benefits of Male Circumcision," in the Journal of the American Medical Association, ARC submitted the following letter for publication. Steven Svoboda Attorneys for the Rights of the Child...

2010

AAP Reverses Policy - re letter of 5-27-10 » Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Text and followup of our May 10 letter to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in response to its recent position statement on female genital cutting (FGC), which condones minimal forms of FGC. The AAP reversed its postition and sent a letter of retraction to ARC.

ARC Letter to Washington Post » Tuesday, January 19, 2010

We submitted this letter to the Washington Post in response to the terrible article by Rob Stein published yesterday, titled “Male Circumcision: Leading Health Authorities Debate Benefits.” URL of original article: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/01/19/...

2009

ARC Letter to San Jose Mercury News » Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Circumcision advocate Edgar Schoen continues to tout the supposedly miraculous benefits of removing functional tissue from males (November 24). Schoen has the nerve to urge his readers to “face the facts” while simultaneously recycling medical myths discredited decades ago suggesting...

ARC Letter to San Francisco Chronicle » Monday, August 31, 2009

Here is an outrageous recent editorial by the San Francisco Chronicle and our letter in response.

Letter to Men's Health » Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I sent a letter to Men's Health in response to their horrible article in their current issue. Since Men's Health seems to only publish one- or two-sentence excerpts from letters, I drafted mine accordingly. Here it is: Steven Svoboda 706 The Alameda Berkeley, CA 94707 February 18,...

2008

ARC Letter to The Sun Magazine » Tuesday, January 29, 2008

ARC Letter to The Sun Magazine 1/29/08 Attorneys for the Rights of the Child 2961 Ashby Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705 510-595-5550 January 29, 2008 Editor The Sun Magazine 107 North Roberson Street Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Editor:

ARC Letter to New York Times » Thursday, January 24, 2008

ARC Letter to New York Times 1/24/08 Attorneys for the Rights of the Child 2961 Ashby Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705 510-595-5550 January 24, 2008 Editor New York Times letters@nytimes.com Editor: We were surprised by a misleading attempt to set up an opposition between male and female genital...

2007

Letter to Time Magazine: Circumcision to Stop HIV Not Medical Breakthrough » Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Attorneys for the Rights of the Child 2961 Ashby Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705 510-595-5550 December 19, 2007 Editor Time Magazine letters@time.com Editor:

Letter to Discover Magazine: Male Circumcision and HIV » Monday, December 17, 2007

Attorneys for the Rights of the Child 2961 Ashby Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705 510-595-5550 January 2, 2008 Editor Discover Magazine 90 Fifth Avenue 11th Floor New York, NY 10011 editorial@discovermagazine.com Editor:

ARC Letter to AAP » Saturday, July 14, 2007

A similar letter was sent to the CDC. Attorneys for the Rights of the Child 706 The Alameda, Berkeley, CA 94707, 510-827-5771 Renée Jenkins, M.D., President, AAP Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University Hospital 2041 Georgia Ave, NW, Room 6B02...

2003

Van-Howe & Svoboda Letter to International Journal of STD & AIDS [PDF] » Monday, September 1, 2003

Click here to read the article [PDF] (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader/)

Letter to Parents Magazine » Tuesday, July 1, 2003

Steven and his wife, pediatrician Paula Brinkley, M.D., co-authored a letter to Parents Magazine correcting their circumcision facts in their March 2007 issue. No response has been received to date.

Letters Submitted to Physicians' Professional Organizations » Saturday, February 1, 2003

Thanks to Amber Craig, April 2003 saw the organized distribution to physicians of a huge quantity of letters entitled "A Caution to Medical Doctors Regarding Child Circumcision" that were signed by ARC, Doctors Opposing Circumcision, and NOCIRC. ARC is currently preparing a submission for...

1999

Letter to the Medical Board of California: Complaint against Dr. Edgar Schoen » Saturday, June 12, 1999

Response Letter from the Medical Board of California regarding Edgar Schoen » Wednesday, June 2, 1999

ARC received the following letter from the Medical Board of California in response to our complaint re Dr. Schoen's lies on national TV in his debate with George Denniston on the Today Show: Medical Board of California Central Complaint Unit

Texas Midwives Letter » Wednesday, March 10, 1999

Doctors Opposing Circumcision 2442 NW Market St. Suite 42 Seattle WA 98107

Doctors Opposing Circumcision/ARC Letter to Hospitals [PDF] » Monday, January 25, 1999

Click here to read the letter [PDF] (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader/)

1998

DOC-ARC Letter to the American Academy of Pediatrics » Saturday, November 14, 1998

Doctors Opposing Circumcision 2442 NW Market St. Suite 42

Letter to the Montreal Gazette » Saturday, November 14, 1998

AMA Letter » Friday, June 19, 1998

Attorneys for the Rights of the Child2961 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705510-848-4437June 19, 1998AMA House of DelegatesIllinois Delegation—Resolution No. 224515 North State StreetChicago, IL 60610Dear Sir/Madam:I understand that the above referenced resolution would mandate the“AMA to devise...

FDA Demagraft Letter » Tuesday, January 20, 1998

ATTORNEYS FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD