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Henry Corvera has taken his ex-wife to court to stop her from having their 3-year-old son circumcised. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Monday, January 15, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Father fights to stop son's circumcision

Man's ex-wife plans procedure for 3-year-old boy on recommendation of doctor

The father of a 3-year-old Las Vegas boy is seeking a court order to prevent his ex-wife from having the boy circumcised.

"It's my son. It's highly emotional, and I truly believe in my heart -- I have a clear mind that he doesn't need this procedure," said the boy's father, Henry Corvera.

Corvera, a native of Bolivia who lives in St. Louis, said his ex-wife, Laura Latimer, told him several months ago that the boy's doctor had recommended circumcision.

Latimer wanted to go ahead with the procedure, but Corvera objected. He said he decided to go to court after she refused to discuss the issue further.

"I believe she thinks she's doing the right thing, but I believe it's not medically necessary," Corvera said.

He talked about the matter at length last week after a closed-door hearing in Family Court Judge Bob Lueck's courtroom.

Latimer, who has primary physical custody of the couple's son, declined to be interviewed for this story. Latimer and Corvera have joint legal custody of the boy.

In a letter written in mid-November to both parties' attorneys, Lueck indicated he would order the circumcision. But after last week's hearing, the judge said he wanted to review more records before making a final decision.

Lueck's November letter was based on an independent examination performed by Dr. Sheldon Freedman, a Las Vegas urologist.

Freedman concluded that the child had a medical condition that would be best treated with circumcision, which involves the removal of all or part of the foreskin of a penis.

"I am very well aware of the controversy regarding circumcision, and I openly acknowledge that the foreskin does have function both in protection, lubrication and sensation," the urologist wrote in a letter to the judge. "In this case, however, the foreskin has a true medical disease, and in my opinion, this is best treated with circumcision."

Corvera questions those findings. He said he has medical experts of his own who have concluded that his son's penis is normal and needs no corrective surgery.

"You don't mutilate a body part just because," Corvera said.

He requested an evidentiary hearing -- at which experts on both sides of the case could testify and face cross-examination -- but Lueck denied the request.

Corvera said he and Latimer were married in 1992 in Rhode Island. Their son was born in August 1997 in Las Vegas, and they opted against circumcision.

"There was an argument at the time, but I imposed my view," Corvera said.

Corvera, 37, is not circumcised and said the procedure is not a common practice in his homeland "or, for that matter, in most of the world."

Statistics show that about 61 percent of male infants in the United States were circumcised in 1999.

"That procedure is culturally accepted here," Corvera said. "It's tradition."

Circumcisions in this country have dropped significantly since the 1960s as research has raised questions about the procedure's medical benefits.

"It is such a strange subject," Corvera said. "Nobody talks about it."

Corvera has studied the issue extensively and has accumulated a file full of related information.

He also has conversed with Jim Price, the father of a 3-year-old New Jersey boy who is fighting a similar battle with his estranged wife. Price has appeared on Howard Stern's radio talk show and urged Corvera to take his story to the press.

Corvera said he fears his child will suffer psychological damage from being circumcised at this age.

And because of the boy's age, Corvera said, he should be given general anesthesia. Corvera said surgery and anesthesia carry risks of physical injury or death.

In addition, Corvera said he has acquired information indicating circumcision diminishes a man's sexual pleasure. He said most American men don't discuss this possibility.

"Because they've been clipped, they don't know the difference," he said.

Corvera said both he and Latimer moved to St. Louis after the birth of their son, but they separated six months later, and Latimer returned to Las Vegas.

The couple were divorced in 1998, and Corvera said they never fought over custody.

"I thought she would be a good mother, and I won't take the child away from her by any means," he said.

Corvera said he flies to Las Vegas once a month to spend three days with his son. He also pays $775 a month for child support, $240 a month to his son's private preschool, and half of the boy's medical expenses.

"Nobody can accuse me of being a deadbeat father," Corvera said.

He estimated he has spent about $12,000 on legal fees to fight his ex-wife's plans to circumcise their son and that he would spend another $30,000 if Lueck allows an evidentiary hearing.

"I'm not crazy. I'm not happy about spending that kind of money, but he's my son," Corvera said.

He also vowed to sue any doctor who performs a circumcision on the boy and said he will encourage his son to do the same when he becomes an adult.

"I'm going to get in debt, but my son will know I fought for him," Corvera said.