User talk:Cloud Yeller/sandbox

So, should I get my child circumcised

Assuming you live outside of sub Saharan Africa then it’s pretty much up to you. Breifly the pro can cons fall into two groups

Medical Issues

The WHO is quite clear on this

“”There is compelling evidence that male circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by approximately 60%. Three randomized controlled trials have shown that male circumcision provided by well trained health professionals in properly equipped settings is safe. WHO/UNAIDS recommendations emphasize that male circumcision should be considered an efficacious intervention for HIV prevention in countries and regions with heterosexual epidemics, high HIV and low male circumcision prevalence.

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However, for those living in areas where HIV infection is not endemic this is less of an issue. Indeed, the BMA has this to say

“”There is a spectrum of views within the BMA’s membership about whether non-therapeutic male circumcision is a beneficial, neutral, or harmful procedure or whether it is superfluous, and whether it should ever be done on a child who is not capable of deciding for himself. The medical harms or benefits have not been unequivocally proved except to the extent that there are clear risks of harm if the procedure is done inexpertly. The Association has no policy on these issues. Indeed, it would be difficult to formulate a policy in the absence of unambiguously clear and consistent medical data on the implications of the intervention. As a general rule, however, the BMA believes that parents should be entitled to make choices about how best to promote their children’s interests, and it is for society to decide what limits should be imposed on parental choices. What those limits currently are is discussed below, together with the legal and ethical considerations for doctors asked to perform non-therapeutic circumcision.

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So, in short, outside of high risk areas, the jury is still out.

Religious / Aesthetic Issues

Two of the worlds major religions see circumcision as ordained for all male children. Whilst one would, naturally, raise an eyebrow if such a medical procedure were done by an untrained person such as a priest/rabbi/ imam, it is hard to see any rational reason to object even if the reason for is based on irrationality.

One important point here is to differentiate circumcision from female genital mutilation (FGM). While there are obvious similarities these are completely outweighed by the differences, in particular the fact that a circumcised male is left with a fully working set of genitals. It is to be noted that, whereas FGM is outlawed in many parts of the world circumcision is not.