Note to reader: 

As the United States continues to endure bleak financial troubles, this is probably one of the most important times for intactivist grassroots efforts to end the Medicaid funding of infant circumcisions. I strongly encourage everyone to send letters to the states that still use tax dollars to compensate for this procedure. Below is the letter that I send. Feel free to use it as a guide. If you would like to make some changes, I strongly recommend to ONLY TALK ABOUT MONEY. All other perspectives about this issue- medicalization, history, sacrifices, damages, ethics and human rights, etc.- should be left for a different project. I am hopeful that if Medicaid directors realize the amount of money that could be saved to help repair the financial backbone of the United States and by utilizing these funds in a more fiscally responsible nature, then we might have a chance to encourage more states to follow South Carolina's most recent footsteps.   

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Dear ADDRESSEE,

In light of the current Medicaid budget crisis, I am writing to ask you to end Medicaid funding of routine, non-therapeutic infant male circumcision in STATE. Taxpayers, as a whole, are paying approximately $70,000,000 annually to fund circumcision and the continuing medical visits, procedures, and costs resulting from botched circumcisions.

In its most recent circumcision policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said "the procedure is not essential to the child's current well-being".  Both the AAP and the American Medical Association advise against non-therapeutic circumcision, and no national or international medical association recommends circumcision for preventive health reasons.

The alleged benefits of circumcision do not outweigh the known risks, complications, and costs of the unnecessary surgery. Scarce Medicaid dollars should be spent on necessary and vital medical needs. If circumcision is medically required after more conservative and cost-efficient methods have failed—which is rare—then Medicaid should provide financial compensation.

Some parents request circumcision for cultural and/or religious reasons, but this is not justifiable for Medicaid compensation. In December 2010, South Carolina announced coverage for circumcisions would cease, as it joined 16 states that have stopped payment for non-therapeutic procedures. Since infant circumcision is not medically necessary, please end STATE’s Medicaid funding of non-therapeutic circumcisions. For more information, see www.nocirc.org.

Sincerely,

Travis L.C. Wisdom
Branch Director of Las Vegas, Nevada

National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers
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ADDRESS 2
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