An Interview with the "Lactivist Intactivist" - Kira Antinuk

Everyone has a cause, something they are passionate about, something that inspires them to greater heights. For Kira Antinuk her passion is for babies, protecting them and caring for them is her calling. As a mother herself Kira understands the fears and concerns that all parents face and she hopes to educate them in order to help them make better choices for their children.

How did you get started as an intactivist?
To be frank, my husband and I hadn't even discussed circumcision until a pre-natal doctor appointment when our doctor asked us if we planned to circumcise the baby. We were shocked; literally had our jaws hanging down. Neither of us realized that was still being done to babies routinely. My husband, being from Hong Kong, is intact and I had thought up until that point that circumcision was something done to Jewish men, but wasn't sure of what it exactly entailed. When we got home, I began researching the issue and was horrified to discover that there was no medical recommendation to do it, and it caused massive amounts of damage. After seeing a video clip of a typical infant circumcision, I realized that it wasn't enough to protect only my own children from this human rights violation, I had to protect all babies from the violation, the pain, and the damage this caused. It's difficult to put into words why I was so moved to take action, it was more instinctual, as a human being I simply felt responsible to help protect the rights of other human beings who could not speak for themselves. I entered the world of internet parenting discussion boards and have learned over the past few years that the way I discuss this issue is nearly as important as the facts as I share, as there is much in the way of defensiveness, grief, guilt and anger surrounding the topic of infant circumcision.