SeaJ,

There are also health organizations from many other countries that come to the opposite conclusion and recommend circumcision only when it is medically necessary. The policy seems outdated at the very least and based on misleading conditions at worst.

Benefits include significant reductions in the risk of urinary tract infection in the first year of life and, subsequently, in the risk of heterosexual acquisition of HIV and the transmission of other sexually transmitted infections.

UTI rates can be lowered by teaching parents to properly wash their children.

For HIV, they mention female to male transmission which is something that is extremely rare in the US. The two studies they looked at were in Africa where that actually is an issue but far from being one here in the US. There are also non surgical methods to avoid that: PrEP and/or using a condom.

As for something like HPV, we have a vaccine that prevents the vast majority of forms of HPV.

So for the most part the benefit (when not medically necessary) boils down to a very small increase in penile cancer. But even that has likely changed significantly with the increased usage of the HPV vaccine. I don’t think they would recommend circumcision if they were to update the policy (which is apparently an expired policy and has not been reaffirmed).

No judgement for those who do circumcise their children but I’m personally not a fan of unnecessary surgery.

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