Susan Blank
 |
| Susan Blank |
| Colleagues & benefactors: |
| Douglas Diekema Andrew Freedman |
| Member of: |
| AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012 |
| Associates with: |
| American Academy of Pediatrics |
Susan Blank, M.D.[a 1], M.P.H.[a 2], was the Chairwoman of the AAP Circumcision Task Force 2012. The Task force released a new policy statement on circumcision on 27 August 2012.
She had worked at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene since 1992. She is affiliated with the CDC and works at the DOHMH as an assignee from the Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention at the CDC. Currently she is the Director and Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of STD Control.[1]
Contents
History
Blank was an Assistant Commissioner at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at the time that a mohel was believed to have infected three infants with herpes after performing mouth suction on their penis wounds.[2] One of those infants died and another was believed to have brain damage. Thomas R. Frieden also worked at DOHMH at the time. It appears that Blank helped do research for the letter that Frieden later published as "An Open Letter to the Jewish Community", in response to these events.[3]
Chairman of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Committee
She appears to be convinced of the medical advantages of circumcision.
| “ | "There's no argument that the trials that have been done are really compelling," says Susan Blank, chairwoman of the academy's task force on neonatal circumcision. "That is just one piece in the discussion of circumcision." The academy's panel also includes experts on urinary-tract infections, ethics and health-care finance among others, she says.(119) (Wall Street Journal)[4] |
| “ | This statement really is not neutral. There is clear evidence that supports the health benefits of male circumcision. (Community Radio for Northern Colorado)[5] |
Susan Blank may have confused her ethnic views on circumcision with medical science. Her circumcision policy of 2012 received scathing critical comment.[6] The statement failed to recognize that young boys are human persons with human rights independent of their parents. It expired in 2017 and has not been reaffirmed by the AAP.
Susan Blank was the subject of a protest at her Queens, New York City home by the intactivist group Intaction for her involvement with the AAP 2012 Committee.[7]
Susan Black is an outstanding example of a Jewish medical doctor who promotes non-therapeutic circumcision of boys for specious medical reasons. She is a worthy successor to Edgar J. Schoen, M.D.
Fate of the 2012 AAP Circumcision Policy Statement
The 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement received unrelenting critical comment from many sources, because of its significant omissions of the function of the foreskin, human rights issues, defective medical ethics, inaccurate medical information, and many other reasons.[8][6][9][10][11]
AAP policies stand for five years unless renewed; this policy expired in 2017 and has not been renewed or reaffirmed. Currently, the AAP does not have a circumcision policy. This attempt to promote non-therapeutic circumcision in the United States backfired and results in a continually declining incidence of unnecessary non-therapeutic circumcision, although the failed, rejected, former policy statement inexplicably remains on their website.
The policy produced under Blank's direction was a total failure and brought discredit to the American Academy of Pediatrics medical trade association. Moreover, the declining incidence of non-therapeutic circumcision in the USA results in less revenue for those medical doctors who still perform non-therapeutic circumcisions.
See also
External links
Abbreviations
- ↑
Doctor of Medicine
, Wikipedia. Retrieved 14 June 2021. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries, the abbreviation MD is common. - ↑
Master of Public Health or Master of Philosophy in Public Health
, Wikipedia. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
References
- ↑
Susan Blank, M.D. M.P.H.
. Retrieved 4 October 2019. - ↑ (February 2005).
New York Officials Bar Rabbi from Circumcision Ritual
. Retrieved 4 October 2019. - ↑
Blank, Susan / Julia Schillinger: 2005 Health Alert #46: Neonatal herpes infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 following circumcision with oral suctioning (metzitzah b’peh) (archive URL), The City of New York. (13 December 2005). Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ↑ (26 March 2009).
Circumcision Decreases Risk of Contracting STDs, Study Says
, Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 October 2019. - ↑ (31 August 2012).
Pediatricians Decide Boys Are Better Off Circumcised Than Not
, Community Radio for Northern Colorado. Retrieved 4 October 2019. - ↑ a b
Frisch M, Aigrain Y, Barauskas V, et al. Cultural Bias in the AAP’s 2012 Technical Report and Policy Statement on Male Circumcision. Pediatrics. 1 April 2013; 131(4) PMID. DOI. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ↑
Fortis, Bianca (24 November 2013)."Queens doctor targeted over circumcisions", QNS. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
Quote:Babies have no say. We have to be their voice.
- ↑ Staff (April 2013).
Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statement
, Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.). Retrieved 15 February 2020.
- ↑ Svoboda JS, Van Howe RS. Out of step: fatal flaws in the latest AAP policy report on neonatal circumcision. J Med Eth (Published online first). 13 March 2013; 39(7): 434-41. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ↑ Commentary on American Academy of Pediatrics 2012 Circumcision Policy Statemeni , Doctors Opposing Circumcision (D.O.C.). (1 April 2013). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ↑ Darby R. Risks, Benefits, Complications and Harms: Neglected Factors in the Current Debate on Non-Therapeutic Circumcision. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal. April 2015; 25(1): 1-34. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
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