Talk about things that suck

I first read about this in a Christopher Hitchens article, and figured it might just be a drunken hallucination, but no, it’s real. As if regular circumcision wasn’t bad enough, the ultra-Orthodox version apparently includes a practice called metzitzah b’peh, or oral suction, in which the mohel sucks the blood off of the infant’s penis after cutting it. This became controversial after three Brooklyn infants came down with herpes, one fatally. Of course the ultra-Orthodox are arguing that direct oral contact is a necessary part of the ritual, even though the Rabbinical Council of America recommends using a sterile tube.

My sister’s due to give birth to a boy in a few weeks; I’d better call and make sure they’re not using an Orthodox mohel.