DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO CIRCUMCISE YOUR SON?
Circumcision is a painful, risky, unethical surgery that deprives over a
million boys each year of healthy, functional tissue, while wasting health
care dollars that could be spent on medically necessary services. Learn more
about the myths and facts of infant circumcision, visit our Resources page,
read the "Ten Reasons NOT to Circumcise Your Baby Below" below – and learn
why you should keep your newborn son intact.
10 Reasons NOT to Circumcise Your Baby Boy
Because there is no medical reason for "routine" circumcision of baby
boys. No professional medical association in the United States or the rest
of the world recommends routine neonatal circumcision. The American Medical
Association calls it "non-therapeutic." At no time in its 75 years has the
American Academy of Pediatrics ever recommended infant circumcision.
Because the foreskin is not a birth defect. The foreskin is a normal,
sensitive, functional part of the body. In infant boys, the foreskin is
attached to the head of the penis (glans), protects it from urine, feces,
and irritation, and keeps contaminants from entering the urinary tract. The
foreskin also has an important role in sexual pleasure, due to its
specialized, erogenous nerve endings and its natural gliding and lubricating
functions.
Because you wouldn't circumcise your baby girl. In the United States,
girls of all ages are protected by federal and state laws from forced
genital surgery, whether practiced in medical or non-medical settings, and
regardless of the religious or cultural preferences of their parents. There
is no ethical rationale for distinguishing between female and male genital
alteration. If it is wrong to remove part of a baby girl's healthy genitals,
then it is wrong to do the same to those of a baby boy.
Because your baby does not want to be circumcised. Circumcision
painfully and permanently alters a baby boy's genitals, removing healthy,
protective, functional tissue from the penis and exposing the child to
unnecessary pain and medical risks –for no medical benefit. What do you
think your baby boy would say if he could tell you?
Because removing part of a baby's penis is painful, risky, and harmful.
We know babies are sensitive to pain. Many circumcisions are performed with
no analgesic, but even when pain control is employed, the pain is not
eliminated. As with any surgery, complications can and do occur with
circumcision. These include infection, abnormal bleeding, removal of too
much skin, loss of all or part of the glans, urinary problems, and even
death. All circumcisions result in the loss of the foreskin and its
functions, and leave a penile scar.
Because times and attitudes have changed. The circumcision rate in the
United States is now below 40% (and much lower in some parts of the country)
, down from 81% in 1981. More than 60% of all baby boys in the U.S. leave
the hospital intact, as more and more parents realize that circumcision is
unnecessary and wrong.
Because most medically advanced nations do not circumcise baby boys.
People in Europe, Asia and Latin America are often appalled to hear that
American doctors and hospitals remove part of a boy's penis shortly after
birth. Approximately 75% of the men in the world are not circumcised and
remain intact throughout their lives.
Because caring for and cleaning the foreskin is easy. A natural, intact
penis requires no special care, beyond gentle washing while bathing. Later,
when the foreskin can be retracted (something that often does not occur
until adolescence), a boy can be taught to pull back his foreskin to wash
his penis. Forcible retraction of the foreskin results in pain and injury,
and should not be done. Read our Foreskin Care flyer for more information.
Because circumcision does not prevent HIV or other diseases. Over the
years, the claims that circumcision prevents various diseases have
repeatedly been proven to be exaggerated or outright fabrications. Most men
in the United States are circumcised, but our STD rates are as high as or
higher than those in countries where circumcision is rare.
Because children should be protected from permanent bodily alteration
inflicted on them without their consent in the name of culture, religion,
profit, or parental preference. Under accepted bioethical principles,
parents can consent to surgery on behalf of a child only if it is necessary
to protect the child's life or health. "Routine" circumcision fails this
test because it painfully and permanently removes a normal and healthy part
of a boy's penis, does not protect the child’s life or health, and in fact
creates new risks. Removing the foreskin is no more justified than removing
a finger or any other healthy body part.