Infant Circumcision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Infant Circumcision - Essay Example According to Schoen et al (2000), evidence indicates that in the first year of life uncircumcised infants have at least a 10-fold increased risk of UTI; a circumcised infant has approximately a 1 in 1000 chance of having UTI in the first year of life, whereas an uncircumcised infant has a 1 in 100 chance. The Soweto study, conducted in South Africa, found that circumcision reduced the risk of men contracting AIDS during heterosexual intercourse by about 65 percent. Circumcision prevented six to seven out of 10 potential HIV infection stated by Astor (2005). Studies suggest that circumcised males may be less at risk for syphilis than are uncircumcised males. Genital ulcers related to STD may increase susceptibility. A probable biologic rationalization for this association in that the mucous surface of the uncircumcised penis allows for viral attachment to lymphoid cells at or near the surface of the mucous membrane, as well as more likely minor abrasions resulting in increased access to target tissues. Schoen et al (2000) stated a successive study indicating only a 3-fold greater risk of penile cancer in uncircumcised men unreasonably combined lethal invasive penile cancer with carcinoma in situ (CIS). 213 cases (122 CIS, 91 invasive cancers) in a large health maintenance organization reported relative risk of CIS developing in uncircumcised men was 3-fold. Another study by Maden et al uncircumcised men had 22 times the risk of having invasive cancer compared with circumcised men. IV. Objections A. Circumcision reduces sexual pleasure. During sex, the extra length of extremely sensitive skin provided by the foreskin allows the erect penis shaft to slide gracefully back and forth within the penile skin, providing an additional layer of friction and protection during the sexual act and providing an additional level of pleasure, when compared to the rigid and inflexible nature of most circumcised penises (http://www.coolnurse.com/circumcision_probs2.htm, 2005). B. Circumcision is a painful procedure. Circumcision is extremely painful and traumatic for an infant. According to anti-circumcision, it is a form of child abuse, and that the perpetrators of this form of child abuse are really offensive criminals who have caused conflicting damage to their own children (http://www.universalway.org/circtruth.html, 2004). V. Rebuttals A. Circumcision does not reduce sexual pleasure. Schoen et al (2000) stated anecdotal beliefs about foreskin protective benefit on the tip of the penis and the belief that circumcision causes decreased sexual pleasure. Neither of these anecdotal beliefs meets the stated criterion of being evidence-based. On the contrary, in the case of sexual pleasure, surveys indicate that women prefer sex with circumcised men, primarily from the standpoint of cleanliness and appearance, and the AAP Task Force (1999) cites evidence that circumcised adult men have more varied sexual practice and less sexual dysfunction. B. Pain is effectively controlled by