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'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is a small, mountaineous U.S. state in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern [[United States]]. '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is contiguous with Ohio, which is part of the "circumcision belt of America" that runs through the midwestern [[United States]]. '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is an extension of that belt.
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is a small, mountaineous U.S. state in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern [[United States]]. '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is contiguous with Kentucky and Ohio, which are part of the "circumcision belt of America" that runs through the midwestern [[United States]]. '''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' is an extension of that belt.


'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' has a population of about 1,770,000.
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' has a population of about 1,770,000.
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  |publisher=United States Census
  |publisher=United States Census
  |date=2024
  |date=2024
|accessdate=2026-04-08
}}</ref>
==Health care in West Virginia==
The emphasis on [[child circumcision]] in <b>West Virginia</b> consumes medical resources (funding and time of health care providers} that would otherwise be available to treat actual diseases and improve health.
According to Wikipedia, health care in <b>West Virginia</b> is generally substandard:
<blockquote>
"United Health Foundation's "America's Health Rankings" for 2013 found that Americans are making considerable progress in key health measures. West Virginia, however, ranked either last or second-to-last in twenty categories, including cancer, child immunization, diabetes, disabilities, drug deaths, teeth loss, low birth weight, missed work days due to health, prescription drug overdose, preventable hospitalizations, and senior clinical care."
"The residents of West Virginia have a lower life expectancy than the national average. In 2014 life expectancy for both sexes in the state was 76.0 years compared to 79.1 years for the United States as a whole. In 2014, males in West Virginia lived an average of 73.6 years compared to a national average of 76.7 years and females lived an average of 77.5 years compared to a national average of 81.5 years. Male life expectancy in West Virginia between 1980 and 2014 increased by 4.7 years, compared to a national average of a 6.7-year increase. Life expectancy for females in West Virginia between 1980 and 2014 increased by 1.7 years, compared to a national average of a 4.0-year increase. Life expectancy for both sexes is among the lowest of all states."<ref>{{URLwikipedia|West_Virginia|West Virginia}}</ref>
</blockquote>
<b>West Virginia</b> is deemed to have the poorest health care of any U.S. state.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://wvahc.org/voices-of-insight/west-virginia-healthcare-ranked-worst-in-the-nation/
|title=West Virginia Healthcare Ranked Worst in the Nation
|last=Anonymous
|publisher=West Virginians for Affordable Health Care
|date=2026
  |accessdate=2026-04-08
  |accessdate=2026-04-08
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
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Circumcision has long been falsely promoted as a prophylactic procedure that would prevent future disease, but contemporary research indicates that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is very harmful.
Circumcision has long been falsely promoted as a prophylactic procedure that would prevent future disease, but contemporary research indicates that non-therapeutic male [[circumcision]] is very harmful. There are no medical indications for [[circumcision of the newborn]]<ref name="mansfield1995">{{REFjournal
|last=Mansfield
|first=
|init=CJ
|author-link=
|last2=Hueston
|first2=
|init2=WJ
|author2-link=
|last3=Rudy
|first3=
|init3=M
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal Circumcision: Associated Factors and Length of Hospital Stay
|journal=J Fam Pract
|date=1995-10
|volume=41
|issue=4
|pages=370-6
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/mansfield/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=7561711
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|doi=
|accessdate=2026-04-10
}}</ref> and very few in later years.
* Circumcision actually is a surgical [[amputation]] that exposes the patient to [[bleeding]], [[infection]], [[Documented severe complications of circumcision| surgical mishap]], and certain loss of the [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin| erogenous]], protective [[foreskin]].
* Circumcision actually is a surgical [[amputation]] that exposes the patient to [[bleeding]], [[infection]], [[Documented severe complications of circumcision| surgical mishap]], and certain loss of the [[Erogenous sensation of the foreskin| erogenous]], protective [[foreskin]].
* Several researchers have determined that infant male [[circumcision]] is a traumatizing event that produces [[posttraumatic stress disorder]]. There is reason to believe that many <b>West Virginia</b> males would be likely to suffer from post-circumcision traumatic stress disorder.<ref>{{REFjournal
* Several researchers have determined that infant male [[circumcision]] is a traumatizing event that produces [[posttraumatic stress disorder]]. There is reason to believe that many <b>West Virginia</b> males would be likely to suffer from post-circumcision traumatic stress disorder.<ref>{{REFjournal
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  |first=
  |first=
  |init=GJ
  |init=GJ
  |author-link=
  |author-link=Gregory J. Boyle
  |last2=Goldman
  |last2=Goldman
  |first2=
  |first2=
  |init2=R
  |init2=R
  |author2-link=
  |author2-link=Ronald Goldman
  |last3=Svoboda
  |last3=Svoboda
  |first3=
  |first3=
  |init3=JS
  |init3=JS
  |author3-link=
  |author3-link=J. Steven Svoboda
  |last4=Fernandez
  |last4=Fernandez
  |first4=
  |first4=
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}}</ref>
}}</ref>


==Health care in West Virginia==
==Physicians==
The emphasis on [[child circumcision]] in <b>West Virginia</b> consumes medical resources (funding and time of health care providers} that would otherwise be available to treat actual diseases and improve health.
According to Wikipedia, 10 to 15 percent of physicians practicing in <b>West Virginia</b> are Doctors of Osteopathy (DO).<ref>{{URLwikipedia|Osteopathic_medicine_in_the_United_States|Osteopathic medicine in the United States}}</ref>


According to Wikipedia, health care in <b>West Virginia</b> is generally substandard:
Healthcare providers are somewhat scarce in rural <b>West Virginia</b>.
<blockquote>
"United Health Foundation's "America's Health Rankings" for 2013 found that Americans are making considerable progress in key health measures. West Virginia, however, ranked either last or second-to-last in twenty categories, including cancer, child immunization, diabetes, disabilities, drug deaths, teeth loss, low birth weight, missed work days due to health, prescription drug overdose, preventable hospitalizations, and senior clinical care."


"The residents of West Virginia have a lower life expectancy than the national average. In 2014 life expectancy for both sexes in the state was 76.0 years compared to 79.1 years for the United States as a whole. In 2014, males in West Virginia lived an average of 73.6 years compared to a national average of 76.7 years and females lived an average of 77.5 years compared to a national average of 81.5 years. Male life expectancy in West Virginia between 1980 and 2014 increased by 4.7 years, compared to a national average of a 6.7-year increase. Life expectancy for females in West Virginia between 1980 and 2014 increased by 1.7 years, compared to a national average of a 4.0-year increase. Life expectancy for both sexes is among the lowest of all states."<ref>{{URLwikipedia|West_Virginia|West Virginia}}</ref>
Physicians in the [[United States]] are paid on a fee-for-service basis. [[Circumcision]] is an additional service for which physicians collect an additional fee. A typical child circumcision can be done in only a few minutes, so the [[financial incentive]] is highly attractive. The actual health value or lack thereof of circumcision is seldom considered.<ref name="bollinger2025">{{REFdocument
</blockquote>
|title=Policy Paper: Newborn Circumcision as a Negative Wellness Factor
<b>West Virginia</b> is rated to have the poorest health care of any U.S. state.<ref>{{REFweb
  |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394517060_Policy_Paper_Newborn_Circumcision_as_a_Negative_Wellness_Factor
  |url=https://wvahc.org/voices-of-insight/west-virginia-healthcare-ranked-worst-in-the-nation/
  |contribution=
  |title=West Virginia Healthcare Ranked Worst in the Nation
  |last=Bollinger
  |last=Anonymous
|first=Dan
  |publisher=West Virginians for Affordable Health Care
|init=
  |date=2026
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
  |accessdate=2026-04-08
  |publisher=Research Gate
|format=PDF
  |date=2025-08
  |accessdate=2026-04-10
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
==Physicians==
According to Wikipedia, 10 to 15 percent of physicians practicing in <b>West Virginia</b> are Doctors of Osteopathy (DO).<ref>{{URLwikipedia|Osteopathic_medicine_in_the_United_States|Osteopathic medicine in the United States}}</ref>
Physicians in the [[United States]] are paid on a fee-for-service basis. [[Circumcision]] is an additional service for which physicians collect an additional fee. A typical child circumcision can be done in only a few minutes, so the [[financial incentive]] is highly attractive. The actual health value or lack thereof of circumcision is seldom considered.


A premature [[forced foreskin retraction]] by a <b>West Virginia</b> physician has been reported.
A premature [[forced foreskin retraction]] by a <b>West Virginia</b> physician has been reported.


==Conclusion==
==Conclusion==
The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] has abandoned its previous recommendations regarding [[child circumcision]] in 2017. It now has no official position.
Male [[circumcision]] is now generally recognized as male sexual/genital mutilation ([[MGM]]).
Male [[circumcision]] is now generally recognized as male sexual/genital mutilation ([[MGM]]).


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  |pages=
  |pages=
  |accessdate=2026-04-08
  |accessdate=2026-04-08
}}</ref> however the civic and government leaders of <b>West Virginia</b> have not shown any interest in reforming the practice or in protecting the legal rights of <b>West Virginia</b> boys.  
}}</ref> however the civic and government leaders of <b>West Virginia</b> have not shown any interest in reforming the practice or in protecting the [https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/legal/ legal rights] of <b>West Virginia</b> boys.  


If <b>West Virginia</b> was sincere about seeking to improve health care, it could start by stopping the practice of harmful, unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], which benefits only the bank accounts of the doctors, and redirecting the freed up resources where it was needed, perhaps, for example, to prenatal care for expectant mothers.  
If <b>West Virginia</b> is sincere about seeking to improve health care, it could start by stopping the practice of harmful, unnecessary, non-therapeutic [[circumcision]], which benefits only the bank accounts of the doctors, and redirecting the freed up resources where it was needed, perhaps, for example, to prenatal care for expectant mothers. Cessation of unnecessary, non-therapeutic circumcision should be part of the <b>West Virginia</b> [https://governor.wv.gov/rht Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program], as it would
* avoid surgical risks of [[bleeding]] and [[infection]].
* eliminate circumcision [[pain]] and [[trauma]].
* prevent [[meatal stenosis]].
* preserve the [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]].
* [[Circumcision and STDs| reduce incidence of sexually transmitted disease]].
* improve mental health.<ref name="tye2022" /> <ref name="andersen2025" />
* provide [[sex as nature intended it]].
* free up scarce provider time to treat disease.
* permit improvement of overall population health.<ref name="andersen2025" />
* reduce disabilities that prevent employment.<ref name="andersen2025" />
* may reduce [[Circumcision and violence| societal violence]].


{{LINKS}}
{{LINKS}}
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{{REF}}
{{REF}}


[[Category:American healthcare reform]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Education]]
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[[Category:Male genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Male genital mutilation]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:USA]]
[[Category:USA]]
Retrieved from "https://en.intactiwiki.org/wiki/West_Virginia"