Rabbi J Abraham of London has been placed on the “Known Genital Mutilators” directory at neonatalcutting.org.
From Rabbi Abraham’s website london-baby-circumcisions.co.uk:
“London Baby Circumcisions
Rabbi J Abraham – Member of the Initiation Society”
Congratulations on the birth of your son!
Baby circumcisions by an expert surgeon, in the comfort of your own home.
Professional, caring & personal service
No travelling to clinics
Very quick and pain free
Years of experience”
“Initiation Society?” Let me guess – the infant has no choice but to be ‘initiated?’
And “very quick” is . . . good? For whom?
“Pain free” – again, for whom?
More “About Rabbi J. Abraham:”
Rabbi J. Abraham is an expert circumcision specialist with years of experience. He trained under top circumcision specialists in the U.K. and is a current member of The Initiation Society. He has travelled abroad numerous times to countries including Norway, Spain & Gibraltar, to perform circumcisions.
He is married with 8 children, and a respected member of the community. He performed his own sons’ circumcisions, among many other satisfied customers. He is highly recommended by GP’s, Paediatricians and midwives, who have used his services for their own children as well, and of course by many satisfied parents!
We have no idea what medical training, if any, that Abraham has, and we get no information about the Rabbi’s personal complication rate. And the fact that this is surgery done in the home with no emergency facilities present add up to potential disaster.
If he has any daughters they are the lucky ones; intact, and not sexually abused and mutilated by their father.
Then there’s this greeting:
CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME!
Here at London Baby Circumcisions, we offer you a personal, caring and fully professional circumcision service, inclusive of full aftercare support. Rabbi Abraham has years of experience in baby circumcision and is a registered and certified member of The Initiation Society so you know your baby is in reliable hands.
I do home visits for baby circumcision in and around London including almost any area. North, East, South & West London are covered, as well as neighbourhoods in the Greater London area like Hayes, Northwood, Pinner, Watford, Borehamwood, Barnet, Potters Bar, Romford, Dagenham, Erith & Dartford.
As an experienced circumcision specialist, I believe that your home is the safest environment in which to perform the circumcision. In a clinic, the newborn baby may be exposed to germs and viruses from other patients there. At home this is obviously not a concern.
In addition, the home is the most convenient and comfortable place for baby and parents. You have the luxury of privacy, and all your creature comforts. It is not the best thing to travel around with a very young baby, especially post circumcision. You stay at home – I do the travelling!
Furthermore, the best time to circumcise your baby, is within the first few weeks since he feels less then and the healing is much faster. With home visits, the circumcision can be done sooner.
He says “the best time to circumcise your baby is within the first few weeks since he feels less then and the healing is much faster.” Feeling ‘less’ isn’t a good thing; studies have shown because the infant’s neurological system is still forming this trauma interferes with it’s development and results in elevated sensitivity to pain FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.
Some of the material on his site is shocking. From the FAQs:
What are the benefits of circumcision?
Besides being a most fundamental religious requirement for Muslims, Jews & some Christians, circumcision also has huge health benefits.
• Circumcised men are much less susceptible to cancer of the penis.
• Females with circumcised partners are at a reduced risk of contracting cancer of the cervix of the womb than females with uncircumcised partners.
• Circumcision improves the hygiene and cleanliness of the penis.
• Circumcision reduces the risk of getting balanopothitis & balanitis (inflammation of foreskin & glans).
• Circumcision decreases the risk of HIV (AIDs) in men.
• Circumcision eliminates the risks of phimosis (the inability to retract the foreskin during an erection) and paraphimosis (the inability to relax the foreskin after an erection).
• Circumcision reduces the risk of urinary tract infections.
These so-called ‘benefits’ have been debunked – see that here. More “FAQs:”
Why is it important that I only use a circumcision specialist who is a member of “The Initiation Society”?
The Initiation Society was set up in 1745 to train, qualify and monitor its members in the field of circumcision. It is the only body of its kind in the whole of Europe. Choosing a circumcision specialist who is a member of The Initiation Society gives you peace of mind & assurance that your baby is in good hands. Please note that even if you get a doctor to do the circumcision, you have no way of knowing that they specialise in circumcision, since circumcision is not part of a doctor’s training.
‘ . . . assurance that your baby is in good hands’ – the hands of a mutilator that has no idea if the baby – and future adult – wants this mutilation performed on them? It continues:
Why shouldn’t I just go to my doctor to get it done?
Circumcision is a specialist area which doctors are not trained for. In fact, doctors & paediatricians use our services for their own children!
The following is a quote from the The Memoirs of Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone, “A Sparrow’s Flight“, (written by Quintin Hogg, Baron, Published by London William Collins & Sons Ltd 1990) Chapter 1:
My mother, who had strong views on certain subjects, saw to it that I was immediately circumcised by a doctor. One would think that, even then, this was a fairly simple operation, but for some reason it was not completely or immediately successful. It had to be done again when I was nearly ready for my private school. I was not told that it was going to be done; no anaesthetic was administered; I was just laid across the doctor’s knees and recircumcised (if there is such a word). I still remember the pain, the blood, and my sense of total betrayal by the adult world. My younger brother, Neil, benefited by my misfortune. Deciding in future to trust only specialists in the matter, my mother engaged the services of a Rabbi to do the job on him, and this functionary, whatever his description, was entirely successful.
By definition, this mutilation isn’t “a fairly simple operation” and all of the above horror was totally avoidable by not cutting in the first place. More FAQs:
Can I go to the hospital to get it done?
Unfortunately, this service is not routinely provided on the NHS.
There are a few private hospitals which offer the service but expect to pay in excess of £700! As an example, check out the price in The Portland Hospital here: http://www.theportlandhospital.com/uploads/children/the-baby-circumcision-clinic.pdf and HCA hospitals here: http://www.hcahospitals.co.uk/mobile/patient-information/pricing/circumcision-newborn-babies/. London Baby Circumcisions will provide the service in the comfort of your own home, at a fraction of the cost.
Not covered by the government because it is risky, not medically necessary, and may be illegal. The Brits have done the right thing by not funding genital mutilation; next they have to enforce human rights law and forbid infant mutilations for both girls AND boys. More from the website:
Why shouldn’t I go to a circumcision clinic to get it done?
Firstly, it is much more convenient to have it done in the comfort & privacy of your own home – no travelling, no waiting around and privacy to nurse your baby before & after the circumcision. Secondly, a clinic is visited by many babies & their families, each bringing with them their own germs & viruses. It is a known fact that many viruses are contracted in hospitals & clinics. The safest place for a healthy baby is in his own home where he is already acclimatized to his surroundings. Thirdly, by and large, the circumcision clinics all use the Plastibell method – which is not recommended; see “Why should I avoid doing a circumcision using the Plastibell/ring method” question.
So “the safest place for a healthy baby is in his own home?” In this case, only if the “healthy baby” is a girl. I cringe when I think about the trauma of living in the same space where the sexual assault and mutilation took place.
This non-doctor claims to be safe, yet has no information about his safety record.
Rabbi Abraham answers the question “What are the risks involved in a circumcision?” with:
When done professionally by a qualified & experienced specialist, complications are very rare, so circumcision poses no significant risk at all.
That is the totality of his information about the risks of circumcision, so here is some information about that.
More under “FAQs:”
Why should I avoid doing a circumcision using the Plastibell/ring method?
The procedure for the Plastibell method is as follows: First one has to inject A FEW TIMES into the base of the penis. A probe & a haemostat are then used to detach the foreskin from the glans. Once that is done, using a scissors one makes a dorsal cut straight down the foreskin all the way to the base of the glans. The Plastibell ring is then forced down, in between the foreskin and the glans. After pulling the foreskin back up, a ligature (a type of string) is tied VERY TIGHTLY on the outer side of the foreskin, CRUSHING it in between the ring & the ligature and blocking any further blood circulation. Once the ring is tightly in place, using a scissors the foreskin is cut slowly all the way round just above the ring. Finally the handle of the ring is broken off leaving the baby with the ring around his penis, tied very tightly by the ligature. You can watch the whole procedure here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra5t0OsmWf0&sns=em
This procedure requires painful injections, takes approximately 15 minutes (!) and it leaves the baby with a plastic ring tied TIGHTLY on his penis, normally for a week or more!
So why is the Plastibell method not recommended?
• It requires painful injections.
• The procedure takes around 15 minutes as opposed to a minute or two.
• Since the area goes through a lot of trauma and a ligature remains in place crushing the foreskin, once the anaesthetic wears off, the baby can be in a lot of pain.
• The baby is left with a plastic ring & ligature firmly attached to his penis, often for as long as a week or more, which can be uncomfortable & could be an invitation to infection.
• The ring doesn’t always fall off on its own and further surgery could be required to remove it.
• Once the ring eventually falls off, the foreskin sometimes grows back on to the glans (above the corona) meaning that further surgery could be required to re-expose the glans.
I’m glad the Rabbi described the torture and mutilation of an unconsenting baby’s genitals in a way that makes his method seem . . . less torturous? Here’s his method and the Barzel tool he uses:
What exactly is the procedure?
First the baby is weighed to ensure that he is fit to undergo a circumcision. He is then given a measured dose of paracetamol, orally. A topical anaesthetic is applied to numb the area. Using a special shield, the foreskin is isolated from the glans and in one second the foreskin is removed using a single-use sterile scalpel. A coagulating dressing is applied for only a few minutes, after which it is removed and no further dressings need to be used, leaving the circumcised penis free of any uncomfortable bandages, rings or ligatures.
For more information about the risks of circumcision see research at neonatalcutting.org.
His ‘practice’ information follows:
Call or SMS on:
07961 898 444
