Robert Van Howe

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Robert Storms Van Howe is an American pediatrician and circumcision researcher from Marquette, Michigan. He was a professor of pediatrics at Central Michigan University College of Medicine at its founding, where he was the Chief of Pediatrics until 2017.[1][2][3] He holds a master's degree in biostatistics,[4] and previously taught pediatrics at Michigan State University.[5]

Research[edit]

Van Howe's research includes a study published in 2007 in BJU International. The study reported that the five most sensitive points on the human penis were all in areas of it that are removed by circumcision[6] and that intact men's penises were four times more sensitive, on average, than were those of circumcised men. Critics of this study have noted that it was funded by the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC), an anti-circumcision activist group. Van Howe maintains that this funding did not bias his study, telling ABC News, "The study was based on an objective finding" and "There's no way you can change what a person felt or didn't feel."[7]

Van Howe realised a study which found that meatal stenosis is much more common in circumcised boys than in intact ones. In the abstract of this study, Van Howe even states that "Meatal stenosis may be the most common complication following neonatal circumcision."[8]

Views on circumcision[edit]

Van Howe has said that "Circumcision is as harmful as it is unnecessary".[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Faculty Mentor Bank". Central Michigan University. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  2. ^ Zavala-Offman, Alysa (2014-11-11). "Circumcision prevention seminar comes to U of M campus". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  3. ^ Peres, Judy (2006-06-14). "Court fight on circumcision". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  4. ^ Howe, Robert Van (2013-06-01). "Infant male circumcision in the public square: applying the public reason of John Rawls". Global Discourse. 3 (2): 214–229. doi:10.1080/23269995.2013.805515. ISSN 2326-9995.
  5. ^ Rabin, Roni Caryn (2011-08-23). "Circumcise Or Don't? Quandary For Parents". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  6. ^ "Does circumcision harm your sex life?". New Scientist. 2007-04-25. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  7. ^ News, ABC (2007-08-02). "Study: Circumcision Doesn't Reduce Sexual Sensation". Retrieved 2017-09-12. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Van Howe, Robert (14 October 2006). "Incidence of Meatal Stenosis following Neonatal Circumcision in a Primary Care Setting". Clinical Pediatrics. 45 (1): 49–54. doi:10.1177/000992280604500108. PMID 16429216.
  9. ^ Borka, Aftab (2015-09-09). "March against circumcision planned in front of Beaumont Hospital on Sept. 12". Oakland Press News. Retrieved 2017-09-12.