Recently a newborn baby boy in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was circumcised despite serious surgery he had already undergone on his heart. The result was baby Cole Groth ending up in critical condition with numerous serious medical harms having been inflicted.
Here are more details taken from the petition link below.
We the undersigned are outraged and disturbed following the catastrophic and preventable harm inflicted upon baby Cole Groth, who underwent a non-therapeutic circumcision in the Cardiac Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital on April 19, 2025, despite having a serious congenital heart condition.
Born on March 31, 2025, Cole underwent cardiac surgery to implant a stent, and was deemed stable enough to be released although he would require additional surgery in the future. Despite the baby’s cardiac diagnosis, a physician in the NICU called Cole’s father at 10 pm on April 14 and asked for the parents’ consent to proceed with a circumcision prior to the boy’s anticipated release on April 16. The father agreed, and shortly after the telephone call, at 11 pm a Nurse Practitioner in the NICU performed a painful and medically unnecessary surgery on this fragile baby.. Shortly thereafter, Cole’s penis began to bleed. He bled through the night, suffering immense blood loss and damage to his brain, liver and intestines; his condition became critical. The surgery was performed without adequately informing Cole’s parents of known risks of the procedure, especially for a medically vulnerable infant. This lack of informed consent and clinical recklessness is not only inexcusable; it is a violation of basic medical ethics and human rights.
Please sign and share this petition.