Dean Cochrun sues hospital for circumcising him as a newborn
A gavel rests on top of a desk in the courtroom of the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum in Miami. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A prison inmate in South Dakota is suing the hospital that circumcised him as a newborn, claiming the procedure has robbed him of his sexual prowess.
According to a complaint filed late last week in federal court, Dean Cochrun, 28, alleges that a doctor at Sioux Valley Hospital — now Sanford Health — misled his mother into thinking circumcision was a necessary medical procedure, the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader reported.
More from GlobalPost: Circumcision may lower prostate cancer risk, study says
He argues the circumcision was unnecessary, unethical and without medical benefit, according to The Associated Press.
Cochrun is asking for $1,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. He also asks in the lawsuit that his foreskin be restored "in the hopes I could feel whole again," though he acknowledged that he didn't expect such a restoration to be anything more than aesthetic, the AP reported.
"I will never know how it feels to have that sensitivity during sexual intercourse and have a normal sex life that is pleasurable for myself and my partners," Cochrun wrote.
More from GlobalPost: Every man in Papua, Indonesia must get circumcised
In a reply filed in court, patient relations representative DyAnn Smith wrote that Sanford would not pay to replace Cochrun's foreskin.
"There will be no further correspondence about this matter," she wrote.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!