Intact America is a registered non-governmental Intactivist (pro-intact or anti-infant circumcision) organization created in 2008 to advance the view that the circumcision of non-consenting minors is unethical and medically unnecessary, and therefore should be abandoned. They also claim that circumcision reduces sexual sensation in males and that it is a violation of modern bio-ethical standards to forcibly remove erogenous tissue from children. The activist organization uses traditional media, social-networking, lobbying, demonstrating, and other methods to encourage social change. The group has been mentioned in the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, MSNBC, and Huffington Post.
Contents
Participation in public policy debate on circumcision
In June 2009, Intact America issued a public statement regarding the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) conference on HIV, in which the group urged the CDC "to study the risks and ethics before recommending neonatal male circumcision." Intact America stated that "The CDC is moving down a path towards an indefensible recommendation in favor of subjecting newborn baby boys to unnecessary and potentially risky surgery with no medical benefit."
On October 19, 2009, Intact America placed an open letter in the Washington Post addressed to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), urging the AAP to inform parents about the ethical and health implications of circumcision.
When the AAP released its new circumcision policy statement on August 27, 2012, Intact America formally demanded that the AAP retract the statement on the grounds that the policy was biased and did not protect the child's rights, "It appears that the AAP is acting more as a trade association for doctors who perform this unnecessary surgery more than 1 million times a year, instead of standing up for the human rights and bodily integrity of the only patient that counts—the baby boy."
In May 2013, Intact America applied for a booth inside the exhibit hall of the annual convention of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). When the ACOG denied this application because “male circumcision is … of only casual interest to members of ACOG.” Intact America staged a protest outside the convention. Obstetricians perform the majority of the million circumcisions that take place each year in the U.S.
Leadership
Georganne Chapin, MPhil, JD, is Intact America’s executive director. Intact America is maintained by donations from private donors. The organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code.