The so-called "medical" justifications for circumcision were formulated principally by Jewish doctors. It is in fact from this community that the fiercest opposition to the abolition of circumcision is mounted.
Alex Hardy, 23, from Cheshire, timed an email to reach his mum 12 hours after he tragically took his own life.
In the heart-breaking note he explained how surgery on his foreskin two years previously had ruined his life, the BBC reports.
He described the circumcision operation as “male genital mutilation” and hoped others would avoid his painful path.
Alex wrote: “Know that I went peacefully and am now in a state of peace that was impossible following this mutilation. I died in 2015, not now.
"Where I once had a sexual organ I have now been left with a numb, botched stick. My sexuality has been left in tatters."
Popular with co-workers, Alex had many friends and was known as the “super-smart Brit with impeccable manners”, his mum Lesley Roberts said.
However, while he thrived at work he was struggling with a condition that had plagued him since puberty.
Alex suffered from phimosis, which is where the skin around the penis is too tight to pull back – causing problems for men when having sex or urinating.
In 2015 he went to an urologist who “immediately suggested circumcision”, Alex wrote in his email, a procedure the NHS advises to take as a "last resort".
The then 21-year-old booked himself in for the procedure but suffered constant painful physical issues after, with the head of his penis experiencing constant stimulation.
This stopped Alex from being able to carry out physical activity without pain as well as burning and itching sensations.
He wrote in his email: “Nature knows best - how can chopping off a section of healthy tissue improve nature's evolved design?"
Alex sought medical and psychological help after the operation – but sadly it was not enough to elevate his pain and he took his own life on November 25, 2017.
Lesley, who used to be a teacher, now hopes to go into schools and speak to young men about sharing their personal problems
She said: "I think we all know that men don't particularly tend to talk about their problems in the same way that girls do but I think circumcision is very much a taboo subject.
