There has been considerable controversy surrounding the routine circumcision of male infants in the United States. This is of particular concern, since the medical establishments of all the other countries of the developed world have abandoned this procedure as having dubious benefits. This article examines the medical pros and cons of neonatal male circumcision in a historical perspective and suggests that the circumstances that led to its establishment as a routine practice are largely absent today. Reasons for its continued use and ethical and moral issues associated with its practice are then examined closely, especially in light of the current debate surrounding female circumcision. The article concludes that the medical and ethical issues surrounding this practice should be more broadly debated until there is some consensus as to its benefits. Prudence dictates that until such a consensus emerges, the practice should be suspended.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics. (1995). Informed consent, parental permission, and assent in pediatric practice. Pediatrics, 95.
2.
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics. (1998). Female genital mutilation. Pediatrics, 102, 152-156.
3.
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus and Newborn. (1971). Standards and recommendations for hospital care of newborn infants.
4.
American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Circumcision. (1989). Policy on circumcision. Pediatrics, 84.
5.
American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Circumcision. (1999). Policy on circumcision. Pediatrics, 103, 686-686.
6.
Australian College of Pediatrics. Position statement: Routine circumcision of normal male infants and boys.
7.
Australasian Association of Paediatric Surgeons. (1996). Guidelines for circumcision.
8.
Bigelow, J. (1992). The joy of uncircumcising!Aptos, CA: Hourglass.
9.
Bolande, R. (1969). Ritualistic surgery—Circumcision and tonsil-lectomy. New England Journal of Medicine, 280, 591-591.
10.
British Medical Association. (1996). Guidance for doctors. British Medicine, 332.
11.
Burton, R. (1854). A personal narrative of a pilgrimage to Al-Medinah & Meccah.
12.
Canadian Pediatric Society Fetus and Newborn Committee. (1996). Neonatal circumcision revisited. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 154, 769-780.
13.
Chessare, J. B. (1998). Teaching clinical decision-making to pediatric residents in an era of managed care. Pediatrics, 101(Suppl.), 762-766.
14.
Gollaher, D. L. (2000). Circumcision: A history of the world’s most controversial surgery. New York: Basic Books.
15.
Herrera. (1982).
16.
Holman, J. R. (1999). Adult circumcision. American Family Physician, 59.
17.
Howard, C. R., et al. (1998). Neonatal circumcision and pain relief: Current training practices. Pediatrics, 101, 423-428.
18.
Kistler, S. L. (1910). Rapid bloodless circumcision of male and female and its technic. Journal of the American Medical Association, 54.
19.
Larsen, G., & Williams, S. (1990). Postneonatal circumcision: Population profile. Pediatrics, 85, 808-808.
20.
Laumann, E. O., et al. (1997). Circumcision in the United States: Prevalence, prophylactic effects, and sexual practice. Journal of the American Medical Association, 277, 1052-1052.
21.
Lay, D. (1990). [Letter to the editor]. American Family Physician, 42, 1522-1522.
22.
Maines, R. (1989, June). Socially camouflaged technologies: The case of the electromechanical vibrator. IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.
23.
Maisels, et al. (1983). Circumcision: The effect of information on parental decision making. Pediatrics, 71, 453-453.
24.
Men’s Health. (1998, July-August).
25.
Morgan, W. (1965). The rape of the phallus. Journal of the American Medical Association, 193, 123-123.
26.
Preston, E. (1970). Whither the foreskin? A consideration of routine neonatal circumcision. Journal of the American Medical Association, 213, 1853-1853.
27.
Remondino, P. C. (1891). History of circumcision from the earliest times to the present. New York: AMS Press.
28.
Rice, E. (1990). Captain Sir Richard F. Burton. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
29.
Schoen, E. (1990). New England Journal of Medicine, 322.
30.
Schoen, E. (1995). [Letter to the editor]. New England Journal of Medical Journal, 313.
31.
Schoen, E., Wiswell, T., & Moses, S. (2000). New policy for circumcision—Cause for concern. Pediatrics, 105.
32.
Taylor, J. R., et al. (1996). The prepuce: Specialized mucosa of the penis and its loss due to circumcision. British Journal of Urology, 77, 291-295.
33.
Wallerstein, E. (1980). Circumcision: An American health fallacy. New York: Springer.
34.
Winberg, J., et al. (1989). The prepuce: A mistake of nature?Lancet.
35.
Wiswell, T. (1985). Decreased incidence of urinary tract infections in circumcised male infants. Pediatrics, 75, 901-903.
36.
Wiswell, T. (March, 1990). Routine neonatal circumcision: A reappraisal. American Family Physician, 41.
37.
Wiswell, T., & Geschke. (1989). Risks from circumcision during the first month of life compared with those for uncircumcised boys. Pediatrics, 83, 1011-1011.
