Circumcision protest comes to Royal Oak

NoCirc, an organization dedicated to eradicating the practice of circumcising infant boys, will be protesting in front of Royal Oak Beaumont on Saturday, Sept. 13. 

Norm Cohen, the state director of NoCirc Michigan, says 70 men, women, and children will march to end the practice. According to the organization, circumcising infant boys is a barbaric process that's become socially acceptable, despite the fact that the body part being removed is functioning normally. 

Royal Oak Beaumont circumcises about five infants every day, according to NoCirc, which amounts to almost 2,000 boys annually.

Michigan has the highest rate of non-religous circumcision, about 51,000 infants annually. These procedures add up to about $11 million, four million of which is paid for by tax dollars.

Critics of circumcision say the process causes traumatic stress to the baby, including a change in sleep patterns, irritability, and disruption of the mother-child bonding process. Advocates say the procedure prevents everything from UTI to penile cancer. 

NoCirc says it hopes to remind doctors and hospitals of their duty to first, do no harm.