Is circumcision Right or Wrong?

[Tylervo]

Is circumcision right or wrong? To me, it is a violation of human rights. Circumcision removes the five most sensitive parts of the male genitals, thousands of fine touch receptors known as Meissner's corpuscles, the mobile foreskin, frenar band, frenulum, up to 20,000 nerve endings, and other essential anatomical parts that make it possible for men to live healthy sex lives.

[lolwat]

ugh
do you know that circumcision can be required for medical reasons ?

[Da Silva]

Is circumcision right or wrong? To me, it is a violation of human rights. Circumcision removes the five most sensitive parts of the male genitals, thousands of fine touch receptors known as Meissner's corpuscles, the mobile foreskin, frenar band, frenulum, up to 20,000 nerve endings, and other essential anatomical parts that make it possible for men to live healthy sex lives.

I think its wrong for parents to force children to be circumcized. However, its ok if adults voluntarily want to be circumcized.
Doctors here used to routinely circumcize all male babies.

[Mr. Scientist]

I think its wrong for parents to force children to be circumcized. However, its ok if adults voluntarily want to be circumcized.
Doctors here used to routinely circumcize all male babies.

I agree completely. However, this topic has been debated so many times before now.

[beetleman64]

If it needs to be done for medical reasons, so be it, but I miss the point of routinely doing it. I know some religions do it for some reason, so an outright ban would be a little heavy handed. If you're deemed old enough to make a decision and you're aware of the consequences that should be fine too.

And like Chris, I'm sure I've seen this a couple of times before.

[Mr. Scientist]

If it needs to be done for medical reasons, so be it...

Most of the medical reasons why the procedure is performed have an alternative though. Medicine can fix a lot of the common problems that infant males have which almost makes circumcision completely unnecessary. I also don't get why the religious aspect has to stay the same either. Plenty of religions have changed their way of celebrating the same traditions over the years. There is no reason why any religion couldn't apply different practices at all.

[nick]

Religion and sense/logic dont always agree. So we have, to some extent at least, to accept that for some religions, Jewish being the most obvious, its a big thing. Almost certainly the OP has in mind the fact that is still common practice in America and, to a lesser but significant degree, Canada and Australia for no more reason than habit. "My dad did it to me so I will do it to my son". Great. Its absolutely pointless, there is no medical justification for doing it routinely to infants, its a surgical procedure, there are risks, it goes wrong. Some generation soon will see sense and just stop it.

[Dolphus Raymond]

Ahh, thread #1,000 on this I don't think circumcision is intrinsically wrong, but:

1) I think routine infant circumcision (RIC) is indefensible. It's not medically necessary; the resources required for RIC could be better-used elsewhere; it's quite possible it doesn't pass a basic cost-benefits test; it seems to have a relatively high rate of dissatisfaction; there are no compelling arguments against it being an individual choice. I've argued this a thousand times on GovTeen, and I've never heard a decent argument for RIC. It's misguided even if well-meaning, and we should stop it.

2) Circumcision is overprescribed as a medical treatment. I won't go into details, but less radical alternative treatments work around 95% of the time when there's a medical problem. If the patient prefers it, sure, but it essentially never makes sense as a treatment of first resort.

Of course, if it's a person who's making an informed, consenting decision about his own preference, cool.

[Mr. Scientist]

Religion and sense/logic dont always agree. So we have, to some extent at least, to accept that for some religions, Jewish being the most obvious, its a big thing.

Does that mean the religions couldn't update their practices perhaps? Or do agree with the idea of tradition?

Some generation soon will see sense and just stop it.

Likely, but it will take a while for education of this topic to increase. Circumcision is usually still a very sensitive topic to talk about publicly.

[Da Silva]

If it needs to be done for medical reasons, so be it, but I miss the point of routinely doing it. I know some religions do it for some reason, so an outright ban would be a little heavy handed. If you're deemed old enough to make a decision and you're aware of the consequences that should be fine too.

And like Chris, I'm sure I've seen this a couple of times before.

Although some religions insist on circumcision, the parents with these religious beliefs should be prohibited from circumcizing their young boys!
Its ok for adult males who want to be cut if they consent to it but circumcision should not be forced on boys below the lega age of consent. Freedom of religion doesn't give the parents the right to harm or mutilate their kids even if its the surgical removal of the foreskin.

[TrevorTime]

It's not for me to say whether it's right or wrong, but I have no issues with my parents decision (I was cut at birth or sometime around there). I don't feel "mutilated". And I'm not even Jewish.

I've heard that it can be very painful if you have it done when you are a teenager, so I'm glad I didn't have to endure that. I guess what I want to say is that I can't miss what I never knew I had.

[Aelius]

It's not for me to say whether it's right or wrong

Why not?

[Dolphus Raymond]

I guess what I want to say is that I can't miss what I never knew I had.

I'm not encouraging you to miss anything. Seriously, I'm glad you don't. The whole point of my argument is to maximize people's satisfaction with their own bodies. But...why can't someone miss what they never experienced having? We have a whole Internet and plenty of medical publications. This is hardly "unknowable" stuff to our generation. And, indeed, a substantial number of circumcised guys wish they weren't, or wish they'd had the choice.

It's not for me to say whether it's right or wrong, but I have no issues with my parents decision (I was cut at birth or sometime around there). I don't feel "mutilated". And I'm not even Jewish.

I've heard that it can be very painful if you have it done when you are a teenager, so I'm glad I didn't have to endure that.

Except the incidence of necessary medical circumcisions is ridiculously low. It's like 5% of people who ever have a medical problem, and the vast majority of men never will. Some men want to be circumcised, and you're right, it's inconvenient. But it's better than wanting to be uncircumcised if you're circumcised. Inconvenienced is better than screwed, isn't it? Plus, I've been here and on a few other medical sites for years, and I have never seen a poll where circumcised men weren't significantly less likely to be content with their circumcision status than uncircumcised men.

I'm glad you feel OK with the outcome, but that doesn't mean it was the right choice. It's like my parents tattooing me at birth. Yeah, I ended up getting a tattoo myself. But could my parents have predicted I wanted that tattoo? No. Would I have been screwed if that wasn't what I wanted? Yes. So, even though I eventually got one, would it have made sense for them to give me one at birth? No, of course...

Same goes for routine circumcision, and that's why it doesn't make sense and should stop.

[kuuliluuk]

Is circumcision right or wrong? To me, it is a violation of human rights. Circumcision removes the five most sensitive parts of the male genitals, thousands of fine touch receptors known as Meissner's corpuscles, the mobile foreskin, frenar band, frenulum, up to 20,000 nerve endings, and other essential anatomical parts that make it possible for men to live healthy sex lives.

Circumcision itself is not wrong as any other surgery isn't wrong if done of medical reasons or individuals own request. It is completely wrong to circumcise against will. Like circumcise babies. There is a whole industry restoring foreskins, which shows that circumcisions of these people were very wrong. Why would they want to restore their foreskins after all? Only because it was not their decision. So, think twice before you circumcise your baby!!!

I was circumcised at age 13 for medical reasons. And if you ask me, I like it circumcised more!

[beetleman64]

Although some religions insist on circumcision, the parents with these religious beliefs should be prohibited from circumcizing their young boys!
Its ok for adult males who want to be cut if they consent to it but circumcision should not be forced on boys below the lega age of consent. Freedom of religion doesn't give the parents the right to harm or mutilate their kids even if its the surgical removal of the foreskin.

Yeah, I hadn't thought about it this way. On a related not, I've long felt that children shouldn't have religion shoved down their throats, and circumcision is one way of doing that. Please allow me to change my mind on this.

I do agree that doing it "just because" is rather barbaric. I wasn't aware the instance of it going wrong was so high, but even despite that, forcing it on a young child who doesn't know any better is inexcusable. For consenting adults, or at least much older children, who know the risks and consequences, then it's personal choice, but before that, I agree that it is probably wrong.