Anti-circumcision intactivists are picketing on the sidewalks advocating that males, regardless of the age, should have the human right to choose if they want to retain their foreskin or not. Thus intactivists are attacking circumcisions and supporting laws that would ban circumcisions.
Examining the effects of circumcisions from a medical angle, Drs. Aaron Tobian and Ronald Gray, from Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University state the other side of the debate convincingly. “If a vaccine were available that reduced HIV risk by 60%, genital herpes risk by 30%, and HR-HPV by 35%, the medical community would rally behind the immunization and it would be promoted as a game-changing public health intervention.” As a result, “it would be ethically questionable to deprive them of this choice.”
These benefits of circumcisions have been proven and are only a handful of the health benefits it provides.
Over the past five year, the benefits of circumcisions have been confirmed by multiple studies. Three randomized trials conducted in Africa found that men who are circumcised reduce their risk of acquiring HIV by 51 percent to 60 percent, compared with men who are not. Trials have proven that circumcisions reduced the risk of acquiring genital herpes by 28 to 34 percent in men and reduced the risk genital ulceration by 47 percent.
Women also benefit from their partners being circumcised. Previous studies found that circumcisions reduced the risk of HPV by 28 percent, the risk of bacterial vaginosis by 40 percent, and the risk of trichomoniasis by 48 percent for women with sexual partners who are circumcised.
Thus the earlier males are circumcised the better in most cases. The procedure is safer for infants than adults; the complication rate for infants is 0.2-0.6 percent, compared to 1.5-3.8 percent in adults.
Additionally, it is not unheard of for parents to make decisions for their children, such as vaccinations and surgeries. Thus it is reasonable to expect parents to make decisions about their sons to be circumcised or not.
Thus the debate continues, and for now, parents continue to have control over the decision for their sons to be circumcised or not.
