To circumcise or not – that’s always a big question with the birth of a newborn son. It often causes a difference of opinion, even between the parents, and reports are that the practice is in decline. But the American Academy of Pediatrics is now reported to be moving closer to endorsing the procedure, albeit still with leaving the final decision up to the parents.
Fox News reported that the policy statement Monday from the American Academy of Pediatrics claims that circumcision reduces chances of infection with HIV and transmission diseases, urinary tract infections and penis cancer. It is these benefits that have now caused the academy to update its policy to make this recommendation.
Circumcision is a procedure that removes foreskin at the tip of the penis. The procedure is reported to reduce germs. Another study cites the declining rates and projects that this could add more than $4 billion in health costs in future years as a result of increased illness and infections because of this decline.
The same article, however, reports that activists continue to try and get the procedure banned, saying it amounts to genital mutilation and is merely cosmetic.
So what do you think, is circumcision something that should be encouraged? Or do declining rates indicate that the practice is becoming outdated and not really necessary?
Where is the humor in this story, Brian? You sick bastard.
The idea that male circumcision has medical benefits is based on the false cultural belief that a normal, intact foreskin has no value or function. People in cultures that cut the genitals of children devalue the parts they cut off.
Non-religious male circumcision started in the USA in the Victorian Era because medical doctors thought it would keep boys from masturbating.
Top Ten Tortures Less Painful Than Circumcision 10. Get knocked out by Mohammed Ali. 9. Pull out your fingernails. 8. Eat a pile of steaming bear phooey. 7. Skin yourself alive. 6. Fall into a vat of molten iron. 5. Get run over by a train. 4. Go through a sausage grinder. 3. Saw off your legs. 2. Poke out your eyes. 1. Go To Hell ~Dick-Scalper
"Two studies have found that circumcision actually increases the risk of H.I.V. infection among sexually active men and women, the academy noted. Other studies have linked male circumcision to lower rates of infection with human papillomavirus and herpes simplex Type 2. But male circumcision is not associated with lower rates of gonorrhea or chlamydia, and evidence for protection against syphilis is weak, the review said. The procedure has long been recognized to lower urinary tract infections early in life and reduce the incidence of penile cancer. Although newborn male circumcision is generally believed to be relatively safe, deaths are not unheard of, and the review noted that “the true incidence of complications after newborn circumcision is unknown.” Significant complications are believed to occur in approximately one in 500 procedures. Botched operations can result in damage or even amputation of parts of the penis, and by one estimate about 117 boys die each year. Anesthesia is often not used, and the task force recommended that pain relief, including penile nerve blocks, be used regularly, a change that may raise the rate of complications." so there is some lowering of risk due to penile cancer and UTIs...didn't say how much. Most folks I know did it cuz the dad's was done...but if dad had his nose cut off, would you cut off your son's nose?