SAN ANSELMO, CA.  (Jan. 2)  --  Hailing the decline of

            non-religious circumcision in the United State, a non-profit

            California-based health group this week declared the 1990s to be

            the "Decade of the Intact Child."



	         "We've made tremendous progress in ending unnecessary 

            surgery over the past two decades," said Marilyn Fayre Milos,

            R.N., executive director of NOCIRC, a health group organized by

            physicians and health professionals in 1986 to provide parents 

            information on the benefits of "intactness" (non-circumcision).



	         "In 1970, only one out of ten American boys were lucky 

            enough to be left intact. Today, four out of ten boys are

            intact and in some parts of the country, especially in health-

            conscious California, circumcision is only practiced on a 

            minority of boys."



  	         Praising American parents for "making America whole again," 

	    Milos said the 1990s will see further declines in circumcision,

            as the U.S. ends its "bizarre status" as the only nation left in

            the world which still practices non-religious circumcision.  In

            1989, the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its 1975 

            position that circumcision has "disadvantages and risks."  



		"If current trends continue, by the year 2000 a majority of

            American boys will be intact -- just like their grandfathers were

            before the circumcision fad caught on after World War II."



		Milos cited three reasons for the growing unpopularity of 

            circumcision: better education, avoidance of pain, and cost.



		-- "Today's better-educated parents recognize that there is

            no compelling health reason to circumcise most boys and that the

 	    surgery has risks which doctors tend to minimize."



		-- "Today's parents also know that newborns feel pain, 

	    especially on the genitals. The same parents who favor natural

	    childbirth, soft lights and gentle music during birth are

 	    rejecting painful circumcision after birth."



	        -- "Because most newborns do not require medical 

	    circumcisions, a growing number of health insurers will not 

	    reimburse this cost.  That means that parents have to pay up to

	    $200 for this unnecessary surgery.  Cost-conscious parents won't

 	    pay for something that's not needed."