Archaic and unnecessary genital mutilation or a wise
preventative medical procedure? This is the heart of the male
circumcision debate, a continuing back-and-forth that goes on
whether the general population is aware of it or not.
Archaic and unnecessary genital mutilation or a wise preventative medical procedure? This is the heart of the male circumcision debate, a continuing back-and-forth that goes on whether the general population is aware of it or not.
“I think it is and always has been a volatile and controversial topic, probably because it has to do with genitals and plenty of people out there have highly emotional view points,” said Dr. Julie Kohl, a pediatrician for Kaiser Permanente. “There are very outspoken people with some extreme views on the topic, many of whom have started a Web site in order to make their view point seem like it’s mainstream. My best advice to parents is talk with your doctor and make the decision for yourself.”
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The earliest records depict circumcision on an Egyptian temple’s wall paintings dating from 2300 BC. Today, just 30 percent of the world’s men are circumcised, most for religious reasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States, however, more than half of newborn boys are circumcised, most for hygiene reasons.
“It’s always the parents decision – doctors will explain the procedure, pros and cons, and they [parents] decide what they want for their son,” Kohl said. “But even after explaining all of that, the biggest factor in most parents’ decision is the circumcision status of the father. They want their son to be like his father.”
The Argument For
Pros for the procedure include decreased risk of contracting many sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and human papillomavirus (HPV). Studies have shown circumcised men are 44 percent less likely to acquire HIV during heterosexual intercourse. To a lesser extent, male circumcision also helps prevent transmission of HIV from male to female, according to the CDC.
Urinary tract infections are 10 to 20 percent more common in uncircumcised men, penile cancer, though rare, almost never occurs in circumcised men and about 5 percent of uncircumcised boys will need to have the procedure later in life because of medical complications, such as chronic infections, Kohl said.
The Argument Against
Parents often decide against circumcision because they feel boys must be born with foreskin for a reason, so it’s best to leave it. Circumcision is also a surgical procedure, so complications are possible, though the rate is 2 percent or less, according to the CDC. Also, some insurance companies do not cover circumcision.
“As a parent myself, I understand that it’s a tough decision to make,” said Kohl, who is Jewish and had her son circumcised in the traditional fashion. “I remember vividly having this new baby, and your main concern is making him happy and getting him to stop crying. Then you think, ‘I’m going to do this thing, and it’s going to hurt him and make him cry.’ It’s not hard to see why parents may not want to do it.”
Most Asian, Hispanic and European cultures don’t circumcise their baby boys, so many parents follow those traditions in deciding against the procedure. The rate of newborn circumcision in the western United States has dropped from about 62 percent in 1980 to 37 percent in 1999, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which is attributed to an increased birth rate among Hispanics in the region, who studies have shown are less likely to circumcise their children.
Some people believe circumcision affects sexual pleasure in men because the head of the penis becomes less sensitive without the foreskin to protect it. Studies on this subject have proved inconclusive, though Kohl said she’d been told anecdotally by a man who had a circumcision later in life that it hadn’t made a difference.
Many anti-circumcision Web sites say circumcision gained popularity during the Victorian period as a way to prevent masturbation, which they believe lead to insanity, and therefore is an archaic practice and form of genital mutilation.
Other people consider the permanence of the procedure a drawback, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Religious Aspect
In recent years, some Jewish parents have questioned the faith’s tradition of circumcising boys eight days after their birth in a religious ceremony that also involves naming the child.
“I’m aware that it’s an issue in some places, and that some individuals have concerns about circumcision,” said Debbie Israel, acting rabbi for Congregation Emeth, the South Valley’s Jewish community. “But in my own experience as a lifelong Jew and now as acting rabbi, it seems that the overwhelming number of Jews continue to choose to circumcise their sons. The only difference I may have seen is that people choose to do it in the hospital rather than at home in a more traditional ceremony.”
People outside of the Jewish faith sometimes assume the religious tradition started for hygienic reasons, Israel said, but this is incorrect. Health reasons have nothing to do with Jewish circumcision.
“In Genesis 17:9, God tells Abraham to circumcise his son as a sign of the covenant between Abraham and God, just as the rainbow is a sign of the covenant between God and Noah,” Israel explained. “It’s a matter of highest importance in Judaism. It comes down to being a sign of the covenant between God and the Jewish people.”
Jewish and secular circumcisions in the U.S. are often performed in similar ways. Jewish circumcisions are performed by a Mohel, though it’s not uncommon for Jewish doctors to get certified to perform the procedure along with the traditional ceremony. Kohl is a certified Mohellet, a female Mohel.
“The benefit of having a Mohel who is a doctor is that they can administer anesthetic to help with the pain, whereas a regular Mohel – or Mohellet – can’t,” she said.
Muslims, who also trace their faith back to Abraham, also consider male circumcision as part of their faith.
The Procedure
The two most common methods of circumcision are the Mogen clamp and the Gomco clamp.
The Mogen clamp looks like a pair of blunt scissors. The foreskin is pulled over the head of the penis and the clamps holds the foreskin in this position. Then a scalpel is used to cut off the excess skin.
To use the Gomco clamp, the foreskin is pulled over the head of the penis and a bell-shaped shield is placed over the head. Sometimes a slit is made in the foreskin to accommodate the shield. Once the shield is in place, the clamp is placed over the penis to help block nerves and blood flow to the foreskin. Then the foreskin is removed using a scalpel.
“The benefits of doing a circumcision on a newborn are that the foreskin is very thin and it doesn’t need a suture to stop the bleeding,” Kohl said. “Later in life, you need sutures and anesthetic, and it’s much more traumatic for older boys or adults. For some parents, it’s a tough decision and I think it’s wise for them to talk about it and decide what they want to do before their son is born so all those emotions of having a new baby don’t get in the way.”
