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This page is a dedicated citation list intended to help fight against the misinformation surrounding the surgical abuse of children via Male Circumcision. Also known as Male Genital Mutilation, or MGM. These citations are intended to 1) educate parents 2) counter false narratives 3) further the goal of ending child genital mutilation forever. It is also provided as a handy resource for anyone seeking to know more. If you have any suggestions, additional citations – or have spotted a broken link – please send us a comment or message us via the contact page. Some links are in multiple categories. Categories may move locations as we better organise the list.
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Resources
- “SEX & CIRCUMCISION: An American Love Story” by Eric Clopper, a Jewish man and spokesman for Foregen
- “Unspeakable Mutilations: Circumcised Men Speak Out“ by Lindsay Watson (Original)
- “Circumcision Is A Fraud” by Peter Adler, professor of International Law. He has been in the intactivist movement for years. He laid down all the legality behind circumcision and the reasons for why male circumcision is a fraud and medical malpractice.
- “Circumcision – The Hidden Trauma” by Ronald Goldman, a phycologist with expertise on early trauma.
- “Marked in Your Flesh“ by Professor of Anthropology Leonard B. Glick gives the history of circumcision in Judaism and how it was adapted in the US.
Documentaries
- “American Circumcision” | The undisputed classic of Intactivism. Formerly available on Netflix.
Lectures
- “Sex & Circumcision: An American Love Story” | Original Harvard Lecture by (feminist) Eric Clopper
- “A historical and medical critique of circumcision” | Dr. Christopher Guest
- “A feminist nursing critique of circumcision” | Kira Atinuk
- “Circumcision The Elephant in the Hospital” | Ryan McAllister
- “Why cutting any child’s genitals is wrong: female, male, or intersex” | Brian Earp
- “Circumcision – a sexual harm” | Brian Earp
- “Why male circumcision defenders are fighting to legalize FGM” | Brian Earp
- “Male circumcision violates the physician’s fiduciary duty to the child” | Peter Adler
Foreskin Restoration
- “Restoring your foreskin.” | A beginners’ guide
Note: Awful & Graphic videos of real circumcision are freely available on YouTube, but are not linked to here. Searching for ‘Circumcision Training’ is the best way to find them.
Long Term Health Problems & Deaths
- List of common complications from Circumcision. (Original)
- There is little or no medical evidence supporting routine circumcision for healthy children. Paper recommends against it. (Original)
- Six reasons NOT to circumcise your son. (Original)
Circumcision is an irreversible procedure that causes:
Brain Damage & Lasting Trauma
- (MAJOR STUDY) Agony from circumcision leads to brain damage that makes an autism diagnosis far more likely. The best explanation is that extreme pain as a baby causes emotional shutdown that damages your emotional intelligence. The earlier the circumcision, the more likely this is. It is possible that pain from circumcision directly causes autism in some cases. However, the more likely explanation is that it creates some autism-like symptoms in normal people and worsens symptoms in autistics. You can be autistic without being circumcised. (Original)
- Circumcision directly causes emotional development problems, and may lead to reduced emotional intelligence. (Original)
- Circumcised babies have trouble bonding with parents, and difficulty handling stressful situations later in life – as well as a host of other problems. (Original)
- Early-circumcised men reported lower emotional stability, worse personal attachments, and were more likely to sleep around. They had higher levels of perceived stress and sensation seeking. They did not, however, report differences in empathy or trust. Early circumcision was also associated with stronger sexual drive. (Original)
- (UNCONFIRMED) Circumcision causes BRAIN DAMAGE. (Original)
Disability
- “Circumcision removes the most sensitive part of the penis” according to Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function 8th Edition
- Circumcision was used to control male sexuality. Circumcision removes 33%-50% of the skin on the penis, and almost all of the parts that make it feel good (its fine-touch neuroreceptors). This massively damages a man’s sexuality, as well as making sex much less pleasurable for both him and the woman. Women who sleep with circumcised men are less than half as likely to orgasm. (Original)
- Fine touch sensitivity reduced in circumcised men. Circumcision regularly removes a shocking 3/4 of the penis’ sensitivity through the removal of the ridged band, foreskin “lips,” and most often the entire frenulum (otherwise known as the straight man’s G-Spot). (Original)
- A study of men circumcised as adults found a much greater likelihood of REDUCED sensitivity/satisfaction than improved. (Original)
- The male foreskin provides an important ‘gliding’ function, and matters for female pleasure too. (Original)
- Male circumcision leads to a bad sex life. Circumcised men have more difficulties reaching orgasm, and their female partners experience more vaginal pains and an inferior sex life. (Original)
- (OLD) “Circumcision removes the most important sensory component of the foreskin – thousands of coiled fine-touch receptors called Meissner’s corpuscles. Also lost are branches of the dorsal nerve, and between 10,000 and 20,000 specialized erotogenic nerve endings of several types. Together these detect subtle changes in motion and temperature, as well as fine gradations in texture.” (Original)
See: Loss Of Sexual Feeling, above.
Premature Ejaculation
- Circumcision causes premature ejaculation.
Erectile Disfunction
Studies Directly Linking Circumcision to STDs
- DEBUNKING the African HIV trials that ‘found’ male circ prevented transfer of the disease. (Original)
- Being circumcised is a PREDICTOR of sexually transmitted disease. (Original)
- Circumcision DOES NOT prevent AIDs in USA. (Original)
- A Ugandan trial shows a 61% relative increase in HIV infection among female partners of HIV-positive circumcised men. This link also debunks the famous African pro circ trials. (Original)
- Circ doesn’t protect you from AIDS in Canada. (Original)
- Having a circumcised partner is “strongly associated with HIV-1 infection” in Rwanda. (Original)
- A device for circumcising men in Africa was related to reports of infections and deaths from tetanus. It was billed as a way to ‘Save Africa From AIDs, but the whole thing reeks of financial corruption. Also: going to an African clinic is a great way to get AIDs. (Original)
- Just like with MGM, you can make the bogus claim that FGM prevents AIDs. (Original)
Circumcision Causes Risky Sexual Behaviour
- Prevalence of STDs has been linked to risky sexual behaviour after male circumcision. (Original)
- “My husband’s behavior after circumcision was terrible,” says Lisa, fighting back tears. “He believed he could not get infected with HIV. Now I have to deal with HIV and constantly worry about getting cervical cancer.”. (Original)
Possible Links
- The USA, which has the highest rates of circumcision in the developed world, also has the highest level of STDs. Though some blame lack of resources. (Original)
Note: A newborn baby has ~78ml of blood, which is not enough to fill most perfume bottles. Or even a small teacup. This begs the question: how much do they have to lose before they get brain damage from circumcision? Or die? The exact figure is debatable, but cannot be more than a couple of teaspoons. (Original)
- (2023) Around a thousand teen boys are known to have died from Ritual Circumcision in South Africa since 1995, while 2,000 have had their penises amputated. 23 boys in the region died due to ritual circumcision in 2021 alone. (Original)
- (2019) (Study) Circumcision linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The ‘wear and tear’ it cause to fragile babies can ultimately kill them. (Original) || (Archive of full PDF) (Full PDF)
- (2010) (Study) Circumcision kills at least 117 baby boys every year in the USA alone. (Original)
- (2010) (Study) “More than 100 neonatal circumcision-related deaths (9.01/100,000) occur annually in the United States, about 1.3% of male neonatal deaths from all causes. Because infant circumcision is elective, all of these deaths are avoidable.” (Original)
- (OLD) Circumcision kills over 100 baby boys a year in the U.S alone. (Original)
- Circumcision warning after two-year-old dies and brother almost bleeds out in Western Australia. (Original)
- Ten year old boy loses head of penis in botched circumcision. (Original)
- Circumcision causes 13-year-old to bleed to death in Lucena (Philippines) (Original)
- Man needed FOUR advanced penis reconstruction operations to have children & was heavily bullied because of his ruined penis. (Original)
- Infant Loses Glans In Botched Circumcision (Original)
Moral Objections
Male Genital Mutilation Is……
General
- The so-called ‘Health benefits’ of male and female genital cutting are morally irrelevant. (Original)
- MGM violates violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention Against Torture (Original)
- Circumcision of healthy boys may be Criminal Assault in Australia (Original)
- Isn’t It Time To Ban All (Infant) Circumcision? The Article 50 law meant to ban circumcision was later blocked. (Original)
Racism
- Western campaigns to cut every black man in Africa to ‘prevent HIV’ may be an unethical racist experiment equivalent to the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments. (Original)
- Africans have spoken out against the Circumcision campaigns, stating that African men think circumcision makes them immune to HIV. This has led to massively reduced condom usage. “The program is killing the very people it is supposed to help.” (Original)
Dangerous Trend Towards Legalising FGM
Campaigners who define FGM only in terms of its rarest and worst forms are paving the way for pro-FGM advocates to redefine the less-awful kinds of female cutting as ‘not FGM’. Which means they can argue to legalise it. (Original)
- The very same American Academy of Paediatrics that all pro circumcision doctors base their views on has also claimed that female circumcision is often so much less extreme than male circ that certain forms of it should be allowed. (Original)
- Lesser Forms of Female Cutting could be made legal in America because Male Cutting already is. (original)
- U.S. Ban on Female Genital Mutilation Ruled Unconstitutional, but What Does This Have to Do With Male Circumcision? (Original)
- Bristol University argues that some forms of female circumcision should be allowed ‘for equality’, showing that hardline anti-FGM campaigns are backfiring because they refuse to acknowledge milder forms of female cutting. (Original)
- Zero Tolerance for Genital Mutilation: A Review of Moral Justifications (Original)
- Muslims scholars are arguing that circumcision of girls is different to FGM, and that it may have ‘health benefits’. (Original)
- Does Female Genital Mutilation Have Health Benefits? The Problem with Medicalizing Morality. (Original)
Is MGM as bad as FGM?
- Brutal ‘penis skinning’ ritual sees African youths’ foreskins sliced open and peeled off – risking horror infections and even DEATH. (Original)
- 69% of boys subjected to ritualistic genital cutting suffer from PTSD (smaller study), whereas 51% of boys medically circumcised suffer from it (larger study). (Original)
- Male and Female Genital Cutting: Between the Best Interest of the Child and Genital Mutilation. (Original)
- WHO guidelines on FGM and MGM are ethically inconsistent. (Original)
- (DISTURBING) Article about boys who lost their penises to circumcision. (Original)
- (DISTURBING) Brutal record of the lethally botched tribal Circumcision and Initiation into Manhood ceremonies of of young boys. 1133 dead so far. The original link has the most up to date figures: (Original)
- Moral and ethical comparison of FGM and MGM. (Original)
- Excruciatingly painful tribal rituals generally target men, not women. And they tend to be very public. (Original)
- Symmetry and asymmetry in male and female genital cutting. (Original)
How Can You Tell If You’re Cutting A Boy Or a Girl?
Male Genital Mutilation is extremely profitable, with the procedure itself costing $380-$2000 for an infant in America. (Original) This likely does not including after-care. The foreskin can then be sold to the medical sciences & cosmetics industry. However, the main financial gain may come from vested interests.
Mass Circumcision Campaigns
- The Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation has poured funding into circumcision programs in Africa for decades. Including:
- Funding mass circumcision programmes since at least 2009. (Original)
- Pumping $46 million into sexual health research in Africa in . Including Circumcision studies (at least one of which was shut down because it found comparable rates of AIDS in cut and uncut couples. See: Dirty Propaganda Tactics below). (Original)
- So has the WHO, and several other bodies.
Selling Foreskins
- Exposing the flesh trade in foreskins. (Original)
- (Essay) Buying baby foreskins. (Original)
- Where do our foreskins go? (Original)
- Foreskins as skin grafts. (Original)
- There was a creepy Hollywood fad for face-creams containing infant foreskins, and Oprah was involved. (Original)
- Seven Lucrative Things Circumcised Foreskins Are Actually Used For (Original)
- Circumcision is about money, and it died off in the UK because the gravy train for doctors dried up. (Original)
- Cultural bias drives doctors to promote circumcision. (Original)
- Male Circumcision being legal caused the ban on FGM in America to be ruled Unconstitutional. In other words: People often only care about banning MGM because we might hold women to the same standards and allow FGM. (Original)
No baby or child can consent to circumcision. It is an act of force perpetrated on their helpless bodies by adults who strap them down and ignore their cries of distress. However, it isn’t only perpetrated against children.
Forced Circumcision of Adults
- A dozen men are ambushed, stripped naked and forcibly circumcised in Kenya after their wives complained that they were not ‘as good in bed’ as circumcised men. Note: this is a common practice in the region. (Original)
Circumcision causes so much pain it leads to lasting emotional & brain damage. See: Brain Damage & Lifelong Disability above.
Pain
- “Circumcision is a painful procedure frequently performed on newborn baby boys without using pain relief.” (Original)
- Sucrose, commonly used as ‘pain relief’ for babies receiving circumcision, does nothing except make the parents feel better. (Original)
Notes On Trauma
- PTSD can develop without memory of the trauma. This undercuts the counter-argument that you need to remember things to be traumatised by them. (Original)
Counter Objections
This isn’t a one-way argument, and many Inactivists find that victims of Male Genital Mutilation defend it themselves…. Much the way victims of FGM do…..
While doctors in America frequently praise circumcision, they likely do so because they have no knowledge of the risks or functions of the foreskin – which medical textbooks normally omit. They also have a vested financial interest in cutting. (See: Caused By Greed, above). See also: More Circumcision Myths You May Believe: Hygiene, UTIs, and STDs (Original) Worldwide, however, most medical organisations seem to be against the practice. The following is a short list detailing just some of the medical organisations known to have issued statements questioning or opposing circumcision:
Major Medical Authorities Who Don’t Support Circumcision
- Australian Medical Association
- Australian Pædiatric Association
- Australian College of Pediatrics
- Australasian Association of Paediatric Surgeons
- Australian College of Paediatrics
- Belgium Advisory Committee on Bioethics
- British Association of Paediatric Surgeons
- British Association of Paediatric Urologists (statement by its president)
- British Medical Association
- Canadian Paediatric Society
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia [pdf]
- Danish Medical Association (Lægeforeningen)
- Danish Society of Family Physicians (Dansk Selskab for Almen Medicin)
- Danish Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive-care Medicine (DASAIM) [pdf]
- Finnish Association of Pediatric Surgeons (Sulamaa Society)
- Finnish Medical Association
- General Medical Council (GMC) of the United Kingdom
- German Association of Pediatricians
- German Association of Child and Youth Doctors
- Icelandic Medical Association [pdf]
- New Zealand Society of Paediatric Surgeons
- Nordic Association of Clinical Sexology [pdf] – joint statement issued on behalf of Finnish Association for Sexology, Norwegian Society for Clinical Sexology, Danish Association for Clinical Sexology, Swedish Association for Sexology, Icelandic Sexology Association and Estonian Academic Society for Sexology
- Nordic Ombudsmen for Children and Pediatric Experts [pdf] (representing Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Greenland)
- Norwegian Council of Medical Ethics [pdf]
- Norwegian Children’s Ombudsman
- Norwegian Medical Association
- Norwegian Nurses Organization
- Norwegian Nursing Association
- Paediatric Society of New Zealand
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians [pdf]
- Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) [pdf]
- Slovenia’s government Commission for Medical Ethics states that circumcision for nonmedical purposes is “unacceptable”, and unethical. In 2012, the human rights ombudsman also issued a nonbinding opinion that circumcision violated the rights of children. (Original)
- Swedish Pediatric Society
- Swedish Children’s Ombudsman
- Swedish Society of Medicine (SLS)
- Swedish Society of Health Professionals (Vårdförbundet)
- Swedish Paediatric Society (BLF)
- Swedish Association of Pediatric Surgeons (SLF)
- South African Medical Association
- The Netherlands Society of General Practitioners
- The Netherlands Society of Youth Healthcare Physicians
- The Netherlands Association of Paediatric Surgeons
- The Netherlands Association of Plastic Surgeons
- The Netherlands Association for Paediatric Medicine
- The Netherlands Urology Association
- The Netherlands Surgeons’ Association
- University of Oslo
Political & Media Organizations Who Don’t Support Circumcision
- Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly [statement later retracted under pressure from the circumcision lobby]
- The NHS was lampooned for carrying out 10,000 unnecessary circumcisions of teenage boys per year. (Original) In the UK the procedure is largely confined to religious minorities, and is generally considered a waste of time and money outside of those circumstances.
- False beliefs about circumcision and penile anatomy predict greater satisfaction with being circumcised. Meanwhile, the more false beliefs genitally intact men have, the more they want to be cut. “These findings provide tentative support for the hypothesis that the lack of harm reported by many circumcised men, like the lack of harm reported by their female counterparts in societies that practice FGC, may be related to holding inaccurate beliefs concerning unaltered genitalia and the consequences of childhood genital modification. (Original)
Victims Of FGM Say The Same Thing
- Women who have suffered genital cutting still want to cut their daughters, even after moving to a Western country. “It’s hard to change a centuries-old tradition….. This tradition has deep roots in culture and is for some people an imperative. Quite a lot of prejudices are involved in the circumcision ritual ― that women become pregnant more easily when they are circumcised, and that the clitoris can grow huge if they have not been circumcised..” (Original)
- There’s a female equivalent to those men who say “I was circumcised and I’m fine”. (Original deleted because it supports FGM)
Your Sexual Function Has Been Damaged – And So Has Hers
According to studies, not only is sex less pleasurable for the circumcised man – it is also less pleasurable for his partner. Women are half as likely to reach orgasm during intercourse with a circumcised man.(Original) It is also associated with frequent orgasm difficulties in men. (Original) Regardless of how much fun you are having, you only have your own experiences to go by. Circumcised men mostly report that the only really pleasurable part of their penis is the scar. This is because the most pleasurable part of their penis has been removed before they ever had a chance to use it.
Finally
Just because you feel as if you are okay with what was done to you does not give you a licence or a right to mandate it be done to any other human being. There are people who are ‘alright’ being blind. There are people who are ‘alright’ without legs. But that doesn’t mean everyone should be subjugated by this barbaric act of sexual control.
This is simply an artefact of the idea that genitals are inherently shameful & “unclean”. But let’s pretend it isn’t.
Female Genitals Are Actually Dirtier Than Male Ones
- Smegma builds up in the folds of a woman’s genitals. (Original)
- Women’s genitals are full of folds and twists in which dirt and bacteria can be trapped. (Original)
- Many, many, many types of infections flourish in these warm folds. (Original)
Which Is Why “Circumcision is Cleaner” is used to justify cutting girls
In countries where female circumcision is accepted practice, they use the same argument to justify cutting girls. Here are some examples:
- “The secretions of the labia minora accumulate in uncircumcised women and turn rancid, so they develop an unpleasant odour which may lead to infections of the vagina or urethra. I have seen many cases of sickness caused by the lack of circumcision.” (Original)
- See: The Morality entry on Female Circumcision for many examples.
Male Genitals, By Contrast, Need Much Less Cleaning
- Mayo Clinic simply recommends soap and water for uncircumcised boys. You do not need to wash inside the foreskin until it detaches naturally from the head of the penis. (Original)
If you don’t accept this argument when it’s made about girls…. why would you accept the same argument aimed at boys?
Deliberately cutting newborns risks infection
Evidence shows that newborns have compromised immune systems that are weaker than children or adults. (Original) This is why babies get sick so much. So why are we doing the procedure as soon as they are born, then dunking the wound in a nappy full of literal raw sewerage? Why not wait until the child is old enough to consent?
From club foot, to blindness. From paralysis to bed-wetting. From masturbation to…. nose picking? And homosexuality? Circumcision has been claimed as a ‘cure-all’ for centuries. In fact, some have called it “a cure searching for a disease.”. This is no less true when it comes to modern claims.
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
- It’s likely that circumcision actually CAUSES Urinary Tract Infections AND Meatus Stenosis by damaging the urinary tract. (Original) (Source in Danish)
- Any protection against UTIs would be microscopic, says award winning children’s hospital. “because the rates of UTIs are already relatively low in boys…. 50 to 100 boys would need to be circumcised to prevent one UTI in one boy, who might not have otherwise developed an infection.” That is even assuming it stops UTIs in the first place. (Original)
Penile Cancer
This form of cancer is incredibly rare, and mostly affects men aged 50 to 70 years. (Original) By contrast, circumcision literally kills hundreds of babies & children every year. (See: DEATH). Widespread Circumcision has not stopped penile cancer in the USA. Cases of penile cancer have also been reported appearing on the circumcision scar line itself, suggesting the damage played a part in the formation of the cancer.
This is not an excuse to perpetuate abuse and disability. Especially considering that at least a third of American boys are uncut, and that number is growing.
FGM is Also Promoted Via Bullying
- Study showing that in FGM areas, uncut girls are bullied a lot. They want FGM to avoid teasing, humiliation, stigma from their cut peers. They are glad to be cut to relieve the social rejection & look forward to harassing younger uncut girls. It’s a cycle of abuse similar to that with boys. (Original)
- In Somalia, where 99% of women and girls are cut, women say that it is necessary to be circumcised in for social status and good marriage prospects. (Original)
We deeply understand that this is a part of your heartfelt beliefs , but please hear us out.
Christians
Circumcision of Christian children is NOT Biblical. Circumcision was a rite prescribed for Jewish boys by the Old Covenant, which Jesus fulfilled. This is why Christians do not follow Jewish ritual laws, and can eat pork or shellfish. The command in Genesis only applies to Jews.
- 1 Corinthians 7:18 –“Was anyone (meaning Jews) at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised (meaning non-Jews)? Let him not seek circumcision.”
- Galatians 5:1-11 – “Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.“
- Acts 21 – This section is too long to quote, but the gist is that the Jews were angry that uncircumcised Greeks (Christian converts) were entering The Temple. Which could only happen if there were uncircumcised Christian converts from the very early days.
There’s a lot more we could quote here, but the TL;DR is that you are not following or honouring Jesus by enacting a ritual from the OLD covenant that was fulfilled by Jesus. In fact, you are saying that Jesus is not your lord by doing so.
Jews
You are correct that the Torah commands the circumcision of infant boys. However, there are a few things to bear in mind:
- The Torah only commands the nipping off of the very tip of the foreskin. Not the removal of the entire thing. This is the initial cut in the Bris. The practice of removing the entire thing is essentially heretical.
- Many modern Jews practice the Bris Shalom instead of cutting. It is the same ceremony, but removes the cutting and adds a blessing. It’s much better for the child. It’s likely that the reason so many Jews are adopting this practice is that:
- Of the 613 commandments for Jews in the Torah, roughly 270 require The Temple in Jerusalem – which no longer stands. In other words, the Covenant under which circumcision was practiced is no longer whole. It could be argued that this means it’s no longer valid.
Muslims
Circumcision of boys is not commanded in the Quran, and is only briefly mentioned. It is not considered one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Nor is it required for your Islamic faith to be considered valid. Many Muslim-majority countries (Turkey included) do not have high rates of circumcision.
Meta Objections
Citations implying that dangerous misinformation about circumcision is being deliberately spread, and that pro circumcision groups are hiding the facts of the matter.
- The Notorious African HIV experiments (See: Sexually Transmitted Diseases for more info & studies debunking them). (Original)
- The Bill & Milda Gates Foundation are famous for pushing circumcision as a preventative to AIDs in Africa. What’s less well known is that in 2009 their foundation cancelled a study that was showing a slight link between circ and AIDs. (Original) According to the study, (18%) of female partners of the male-circumcision group and eight (12%) in the control group acquired HIV. The study was deemed ‘Futile’, likely because it wasn’t getting the ‘right’ result.
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