Madam, - As an American who gave birth to a son in Dublin three-and-half years ago I found it a bit surprising at the time that circumcision was not offered in the hospital because here it is routine. It didn't bother me to skip having my son circumcised because, even though it was culturally a "normal" procedure for an American infant boy, I personally had mixed feelings and I had no religious reasons to require it. So my son went uncircumcised, which makes him a bit of an oddity here in the US.
However, I wondered at the time - and more so now when reading about the tragic circumstances of the infant who died in Ireland last year after a circumcision (An Irishman's Diary, January 11th) - why Irish hospitals don't provide this service in their safe environment for those who choose it for cultural or religious reasons, when it is a routine procedure in other parts of the world, such as the US. - Yours, etc,
JANET C. BURKE, Elmhurst, Illinois, USA.
Madam, - I wish to support the views expressed by Kevin Myers on circumcision.
All circumcisions, unless they are performed for medical reasons, are a form of child abuse and in my view should not be tolerated in this country. - Yours, etc,
Dr PAT McGRATH, Oliver Plunkett Road, Monkstown, Co Dublin.