The Myths and Facts of Circumcision

The article “Spirited Debate Over the Question of Circumcision” commendably reported what few expectant parents are told: that no medical purpose is served by routine circumcision of the newborn, and that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists hold that circumcision is medically unnecessary.

Studies which report that uncircumcised men are more prone to infections or could cause cervical cancer or other diseases in women have been discredited, because the studies were performed in underdeveloped countries where hygiene is generally poor.

The argument that a “boy should look like his father” is a pro-circumcision argument that will simply perpetuate the practice. A boy doesn’t have ears, nose, fingers or toes that look like his father’s, so it is unlikely that he would expect that his penis should look exactly like his father’s.

Routine newborn circumcision should be stopped.

GAIL BIBERSTEIN

Arcadia