Botched circumcision on Long Island baby sparks petition to ban practice

A petition demanding an end to circumcisions in neonatal intensive care units has surpassed 1,000 signatures, following the case of a Long Island newborn whose condition deteriorated dramatically after undergoing the procedure in a Manhattan hospital.

Launched by Intact America — a nonprofit that advocates against routine infant circumcision — the petition comes in direct response to the medical crisis of Cole Groth, a baby born with congenital heart disease who remains hospitalized in the NICU at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital more than two months after he was circumcised.

The organization said Cole’s story is a stark example of the risks associated with performing nonessential procedures on medically fragile infants.

“Circumcision comes with many risks, including bleeding, infection and even death,” said Georganne Chapin, founding executive director of Intact America. “The American Academy of Pediatrics states that circumcisions should be performed only on babies who are medically stable. By definition, any baby in intensive care does not meet this criterion.”

Cole was born March 31 and underwent an initial heart procedure shortly after birth. His parents were preparing to bring him home when a circumcision was performed late at night on April 14 — a procedure his father, Tim Groth, has stated was not properly explained and came without a discussion of the potential risks.

Groth said his son began bleeding after the circumcision and hemorrhaged through the night. The result, he said, was a series of cascading health failures, including kidney and liver damage, necrotic intestinal tissue requiring surgery, and now, heart failure that may require a transplant.

“It is appalling that medical professionals in a neonatal intensive care unit, a place where sick babies should be given every chance to heal, instead performed a gratuitous surgery on this child’s normal genitalia at 11 o’clock at night,” Chapin said, in a letter released by the organization.

“Cole had a serious heart condition. He didn’t need a circumcision because there was nothing wrong with his penis,” she continued.

The hospital has not commented on Cole’s condition, citing patient privacy laws.

Intact America plans to deliver the petition to several national and state health agencies and associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Hospital Association, New York Medicaid and the Greater New York Hospital Association, as well as leadership at NewYork-Presbyterian.

Chapin said the goal is to prevent further unnecessary harm to babies whose health is already compromised.

“We believe people understand that a baby in a neonatal intensive care unit is, by definition, in fragile health and needs to be treated with special caution, compassion, and care,” she said.

Cole’s story has gained national attention, and a GoFundMe campaign supporting the family has raised more than $68,000 through nearly 900 contributions.

Chapin said the tragedy is not that Cole’s circumcision was “botched” — but that it was performed at all.

“May Cole’s story serve as a warning,” she wrote. “Every ‘routine’ circumcision puts a baby at unacceptable risk, with no gain.”

_{Top images: Cole Groth (Facebook).}