Is circumcising your son the best decision for him?
Credit: Chad Stiles | ©Chad Stiles
The Pros and Cons of Circumcision
There has been much debate throughout the last century, and probably even longer, about whether circumcision is the best, and more importantly, the healthiest decision to make for your newborn baby boy. Most Christians, I believe, will tell you that in Genesis 17:11, God said to Abraham "You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you." Genesis 17:12 goes on to say "For the generations to come, every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household...." However, this article is not intended to be about religious beliefs of any religion, but simply the pros and cons of circumcision, and which decision is best for newborn baby boys.Let us first begin with the definition of circumcision. According to the WebMD, "circumcision is an elective surgery to remove the foreskin, a fold of skin that covers and protects the rounded tip of the penis."� Is this surgery necessary to live a normal life as a male human being? No, in fact, according to the University of Michigan Health System, only 60% of American males are circumcised now compared to 90% in 1979.� It is just a matter of the different pros and cons that go with being circumcised or uncircumcised that make people choose one procedure over the other.
One of the first reasons that circumcisions were performed was for religious reasons. After that, it was at first believed that circumcision helped prevent sexually transmitted diseases. This belief was extremely popular in English-speaking nations. It has been disproved, of course, and research shows us that there is no difference in being uncircumcised and circumcised when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases.
Once again, University of Michigan's Health System tells us that there are at least three purposes of the foreskin.
- WebMD: www.webmd.com/hw/raising_a_family/hw142452.asp University of Michigan Health System: www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_circumci_hhg.htm
Comments
annonymous
(Guest)
(Guest)
02/03/2010
Yes let the poor boy be humiliated in the locker room and have severe emotional damage than have him go through a procedure he won't remeber and will more than likely be greatful for. Oh and FYI- studies have shown that men with a circumsised penis are at a lower risk for cancer of the penis and women who have a partner who is circumsised are shown to have less incidences of cervical cancer. My mom let my brother decide when he was 12 whether he wanted to get it done or not and he says he is so happy he did it and would do it again in a second. He said the lack of torment from boys his age was a benefit that was worth the pain. His only complaint was that our mother didn't do it at birth.
Ugh.
(Guest)
(Guest)
01/20/2010
You are advising people to mutilate their babies for basically no reason.
Rick
(Guest)
(Guest)
01/10/2010
During World War II the Nazis could immediately distinguish between Gentile and Jew. After WWII there was a massive effort to get all American males circumsized. Figure that out.
The studies often cited using health issues as the criteria are generally from Africa where STDs and HIV are rampant and personal hygiene lacking. Its "junk science".
Why traumatize a newborn by subjecting them to such pain with dubious benefits?
It makes no sense in contemporary America.
Craig
(Guest)
(Guest)
01/03/2010
I was circumsised as an adult - so I know both sides.
Mine was a medical necessity, but people who cut off their child's foreskin should be done for child abuse.
Sex is better with a foreskin, circumsision cuts down the sensitivity by about 30 - 40%
My girlfriend hates foreskins on men, but I know it's more pleasurable for the male.
Sex is ok without, but if I had a choice (which I didn't, and it really upsets me) I'd have a foreskin.
Kailia
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/29/2009
So pain from uti is not okay, what do you think about the pain from circumcision? And the long term damage caused by genital mutilating surgery only days after being born.
Circ also shortens the penis as well as cutting away thousands of valuable nerve endings. No circumcision for us, thank you!
William Nelson
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/13/2009
I think uncircumcised people look nasty
jjjj
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/08/2009
that website is biased. it only lists studies supporting one side of the argument. while they are individually unbiased, they were obviously selected to make people choose not circumcise. I doubt the research is that one-sided.
Facts
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/05/2009
http://www.circumcision.org/studies.htm
Here's an unbiased article that simply states the facts and not some bs author's opinion.
Guest
(Guest)
(Guest)
12/02/2009
You could also remove your son's permanent teeth and forgo the risk of him ever having a cavity. Or you could just teach him proper dental hygiene and avoid it that way as well. Circumcision strikes me as the lazy parents way of dealing with hygiene.
mc
(Guest)
(Guest)
11/21/2009
i'm a christian and i wouldn't have my son circumsized. for one, that's something from the old testament. Jesus came to set us free from legalities such as those. i really hate when people quote the old testament. We are free from that!
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