Date: Thu, 29 Dec 1994 22:26:56 -0500
From: CircInfoNe@aol.com
Subject: Archives of General Psychiatry and The Aquarian

Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 51, No. 12, Dec. 1994, pp. 984-988:
"Birth Complications Combined With Early Maternal Rejection at Age 1 Year
Predispose to Violent Crime at Age 18 Years." Adrian Raine, DPhil;
Patricia Brennan, PhD; Sarnoff A. Mednik, PhD. Conclusion: "To our
knowledge, this is the first study to show that birth complications in
combination with early child rejection predispose to violent crime. The
findings illustrate the critical importance of integrating biological with
social measures to fully understand how violence develops and also suggest
that prenatal, perinatal, and early postnatal health care interventions
could significantly reduce violence." Note: the birth complications listed
are forceps extraction, breech delivery, umbilical cord prolapse,
preeclampsia, and long birth duration. There is no mention of
circumcision. This article was reported 14 Dec. by Tim Friend in USA Today
and by Lisa Priest in The Toronto Star. Both articles noted that the study
found that baby boys who suffered birth complications were more prone to
commit murders, rapes (USA Today) and armed robberies as adults.  "While
only 4.5% of the subjects had both risk factors [rejection and
complications] they accounted for 18% of all violent crimes. As activists,
we can exploit this study and demand that circumcision trauma be
acknowledged and examined more closely. 

Submit letters to Jack D. Barchas, MD Editor, Archives of General
Psychiatry, Cornell Medical Center, Dept. of Psychiatry, Box 171, 525 E
68th St., Rm. F2315, New York, NY 10021. Letters to the Editor will be
considered for publication if they are accompanied by a cover letter
stating they are "for publication" and must follow manuscript preparation
guidelines (e.g., double-spaced, copyright transfer) and should not exceed
750 words. Include 3 copies. Thanks to Robert Riley, Frederick Hodges et al. 

THE AQUARIAN, Winter 1994, distributorship of 11,000.  The best article
imaginable about circumcision, by editor Anna Olson, entitled
"Circumcision:  A Human Rights Issue."  It starts out, "On the subject of
circumcision, I admit to a bias:  I am opposed to the routine circumcision
of baby boys."  And it only gets better.  Also featured:  "What I wish I
had known" by Marilyn Milos and a very comprehensive list of organizations
(the good guys), action alerts, and suggestions for activism.  This one is
almost beyond belief.  Send a thank you note to The Aquarian, The Jewish
Post Ltd., 117 Hutchings St., Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 2V4, (204) 694-3332,
Fax: (204) 694-3916.  Thanks to Bettie Malofie.