Male circumcision has been a longstanding controversy in America today. It’s a medical practice that revolves around religious practice, personal preference, familial beliefs and even cultural rites of passage. However, as with any surgery, there are reasonable risks involved with make circumcision that should be considered seriously. With so many deep rooted reasons for choosing to agree or disagree with male circumcision, it’s no surprise that the controversy is heated.
Recently, an upheaval of protest in San Francisco became widely publicized as noteworthy. A group of well organized and very vocal protestors actively coordinated supporters to express the strength of their fight against male circumcision. In fact, these “opponents collected more than 10,000 signatures to bring a proposal before voters to ban circumcising men younger than 18 unless medically necessary,” reported American Medical News.
The group of protestors brought their fight to the courts, where it was shot down this summer. In July 2011, the state of California’s Supreme Court Judge rejected the ballot. In early October, the governor signed documents that prevent local authorities from making any restrictive laws against male circumcision.
Why the fuss? Well, both sides have very strong arguments. For those who are opponents, surgical complication is considered a very serious danger, particularly when considering the fact that the knife is being held up to an infant rather than an adult. However, those who support the issue argue that the risk is actually higher for complications when doctors are operating on adult males.
“Aaron A.R. Tobian, MD, PhD, lead author of the JAMA editorial, said the complication rate for infants is less than 1%. For adult males, the risk of complications increases to as much as 4%, said Dr. Tobian, assistant professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.”
Interestingly, the arguments that support circumcision became even stronger, just days after California government ruled in its favor, when a medical journal released a study showing that circumcised men are less likely to contract some sexually transmitted diseases than uncircumcised men. The risk for contracting HIV is lowered by 60%, while the risk of contracting herpes is lowered 30% and HPV by 35%. Other benefits include lowered risk of urinary tract infections.
If that’s not convincing enough, however, there is the issue of religious freedom. You know… the very thing that our country was founded upon? Yes, the complication is that Jewish and Muslim cultures consider neonatal circumcision as a ritual obligation.
The bottom line is that when it comes to medical practices, there can be many sides to every decision. What is important for you and me, and anyone facing a permanent surgical procedure is that we consider all facets. After weighing all the benefits and risks, we know that we’ve done the best we could in making an informed choice. Want to know my vote on the issue of circumcision? I support your freedom for your choice in protecting your infant boy’s best interest how you see fit.
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