Ban Male Genital Mutiliation

UPDATE: Circumcision advocates have been pointing to a study from sub-Saharan Africa where some men were circumcised that seems to point to this as the cause for lower HIV rates in that group. Let me just reiterate this: in the United States approximately 80% of our adult males are circumcised. In other developed countries it is below 20%. So I looked up the HIV rates in the U.S. vs. other countries and here is what I found (from the CIA World Factbook as of January 26, 2011) - the U.S. has a rate of 0.6% prevalence of HIV infection. The United Kingdom, where you'd be hard-pressed to find an adult circumcised male, has 0.2%, or 1/3rd of our HIV rate. Sweden and Norway are at 0.1%. Spain is at 0.5%, France is at 0.4%, Germany is at 0.1%. I suspect that the drop in rates in the African study were totally unrelated to the circumcision of the study group, and had more to do with the fact that these men were being given information about prevention (condoms, etc. etc. ) than they had before. From the above data we can say with certainty that circumcision and the rate of HIV infection are not in direct correlation.

It's been a while since I've felt the need to climb on the Soapbox, but I feel the need now. One would think it would be something re Sarah Palin's latest evidence of her boundless ignorance, or Anthony Weiner's, for that matter... this time I'm going to get on the Soapbox about the practice of routine circumcision of infant males in the U.S.

Why this subject, you ask? Well, it turns out San Francisco is introducing a bill to make it illegal to circumcise males under the age of 18. This type of law may be introduced in other cities around the U.S., and I for one hope it succeeds.

When you hear about genital mutiliation your mind probably thinks of the tragedy of the girls of Africa who are horribly mutilated as children, having much of their outer genitals removed (and not surgically, but usually with a sharp rock or some like sort of thing). This is just horrific, and I don't think any American in their right mind would disagree. But what exactly is male circumcision? It might be done in a hospital under sterile conditions (at least for those infant males who do not have this done as part of a religious ritual), but it is the permanent removal of a natural part of male genitals without the consent of the patient. Just because we're more used to it here in the U.S. doesn't make it right, and it doesn't mean there aren't consequences. Circumcisions can and have gone horribly wrong, including the necessity of removal of the entire penis in some cases.

While pro-circumcision advocates say that the practice helps stop the spread of STDs, including HIV, and lessens the probability of a urinary tract infection, the facts just don't bear this out. The U.S. is the ONLY developed country where the vast majority of adult males have been circumcised, and yet we have the highest rate of STDs. As far as UTIs go, only about 1% of uncircumcised boys experience one that needs treatment.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the AMA are now not recommending routine infant circumcision, and so the rate of circumcision in the U.S. has fallen to around 30%-50% for non-Jewish, non-Islamic baby boys. That is still much too high. And while I am not one to poke my nose into other people's religious practices, I don't think that permanently removing a natural part of an infant's genitals should be included in religious practice, call me crazy.

There are other things to consider when it comes to circumcision as well. The foreskin has a purpose - it is there to protect the penis. In addition, it is packed with nerve endings, and removing it causes a decrease in sensitivity.

Many people say this decision is the parents' to make, but is it really? A baby is a baby for a while, but he will be a man for many decades. This is not a decision that parents should make just because it's more convenient for them while he's an infant. This should be a decision he can make for himself when he is of age and can be informed of his options.