Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed compared gender transition surgery for minors to circumcision, creating a new controversy as Democrats struggle to clarify their stance on transgender procedures for children.El Sayed, the left-wing Democrat running against Republican Mike Rogers in a tightly contested race for Senate in November, made the comment comparing so-called “gender affirming” penile surgery to circumcision during a heated interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Monday night. Watters asked el Sayed, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases, whether he supported transgender medical procedures, including surgery, for minors. After Watters and el Sayed talked over each other, Watters asked el Sayed if he believes “it’s OK for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off.”
El Sayed responded by asking whether or not Watters was circumcised. “Yeah, but I mean that’s a personal question, doctor,” Watters said, adding, “circumcision’s different than castration.” “It’s a problem that you think that you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor, and a patient,” el Sayed said. “And I’m just saying that yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling. So if you really want to bring that up, you can. I just think you guys are really selective about how to talk about these things.”
