Discussion postings on Circumcision Debate

Look at the opposing viewpoints and respectfully defend your stance until you either agree or agree to disagree. Remember to justify your stance with facts. Debbie has the Cons about Circumcision: 1)Circumcision is the excision of the foreskin from the penis. Circumcision does more harm than good, carries unnecessary risks and should not be performed routinely. It is more rooted in tradition than medicine. Most parents choose circumcision based on religious beliefs, concerns about hygiene, cultural or social reasons. They wish to have their son like other men in the family. Some parents feel he will be less attractive or rejected by girls. They feel it just looks better. They think he will be teased in the locker room. The Jewish religion does it because they feel it is a covenant between Abraham and God. Islam feels it's a confirmation of their relationship with God. Some African and other ethnic groups around the world look at it as a rite of passage to manhood. Tradition, religion or social status should not be a valid reason for circumcision. It should be for medical reasons only. The foreskin is a natural part of the male body. The foreskin may be protection against infection. It is much less sensitive. It reduces the loss of lubrication. Circumcision increases the chance of meatitis. There can be surgical risks. Excessive bleeding and infection are uncommon, but possible. The foreskin may be cut too short or too long or fail to heal properly. If the remaining foreskin reattaches to the end of the penis, minor surgery may be needed to correct it. Circumcision may hurt without adequate anesthesia. Local anesthesia can block nerve sensations during the procedure but may have its own risk. After the procedure, it may be impossible to re-create the appearance of an uncircumcised penis. A surprising number of men have a scar across the head, a stray tag of skin hanging off their penis, or ugly lumps where the two kinds of skin healed together and where the veins had to find their own new routes. Circumcision shouldn't be done when a baby's urethral opening is in an abnormal position on the side or base of the penis. This condition is treated surgically and may require the foreskin for repair. While he's a baby, it also protects his urethra from bacteria entering, acting like a kind of flap; that's why a baby's is so long. Babies who don't have a foreskin are more likely to www(dot)artofmanliness(dot)com, www(dot)babymed(dot)com, www(dot)circumstitions(dot)com Resources: ulcers around the opening in the head where the urine comes out, which causes it to close. Then they have to have surgery to fix that. There is some suggestion that the cells of the inside of his foreskin are part of his immune system. It still protects the surface of the head of his penis and keeps it soft. Clothing doesn't do that, on the contrary, clothing rubbing his glans hardens it, the way walking barefoot hardens your feet. Circumcision may not be an option in an infant with ambiguous genitalia or a family history of hemophilia. Whether the procedure enhances or detracts from sexual pleasure for men or their partners remains unknown. The benefits for circumcision do not show enough significant evidence to have this medical/surgical procedure done, just because it's the way things have been done. Problems with the penis, such as irritation, can occur with or without circumcision. With proper care, there is no difference in hygiene. There may or may not be differences in sexual sensation in adult men. There is an increased risk for a UTI in uncircumcised males, especially babies under 1 year. However, the risk for a UTI is still less than 1 percent. Newborn circumcision provides some protection from penile cancer, which only occurs in the foreskin. However, the risk of this cancer is very low in developed countries such as the United States. Courtney has the Cons about Circumcision: 2) Overall, health benefits may outweigh the risks when it comes to circumcision, but parents should compare the two in relation to their own personal religious and cultural preferences because the advantages may not end up outweighing the risks for the individual family. Usually, around 57% of circumcision decisions are made on the basis of family history and sociocultural influences rather than medical recommendations (Pediatrics, Male Circumcision, 2012). This process is not essential to maintain a healthy child. It may lower the risk of STI's, but it does not decrease the risk of contracting the two most common STI's, chlamydia and gonorrhea. Circumcision can lower the incidence of UTI's, but the decrease is minimal. It could also decrease the risk of forming penile cancer, but this type of cancer is very rare in all males. When a child is circumcised, it can lead to improper healing of the wound, increased bleeding, infection, possible penile amputation, the transmission of herpes simplex, the contraction of MRSA, and urethral cutaneous fistulas. The function of the foreskin of the penis is to protect the tip of the penis, so without the foreskin, the opening of the penis can shrink which can lead to urinary issues with the possibility of surgical corrections. Circumcisions would not be necessary if young boys were taught proper penile hygiene. When childhood education regarding personal hygiene is taught as the child grows, proper penile hygiene should already be a topic in the education process. This alone can decrease the risks of contracting STI's, UTI's, and possible, but rare, cancer. Circumcisions are medically unnecessary and remove the protective layer of the head of the penis. It is performed on a patient who is unable to voice their wants and is rarely taken into consideration when the dignity of patients is made a big deal in healthcare. Frank, R. (2000). A Trade-Off Analysis of Routine Newborn Circumcision. Pediatrics, 954. Pediatrics, T. A. (2012). Male Circumcision. Pediatrics, 756-785. Pediatrics, T. A. (2013, March 29). Circumcision. Retrieved from Healthy Children: www(dot)healthychildren(dot)org Brook list some Cons about Circumcision: 3)Having your baby circumcised can become a dilemma for new parents, mainly for parents of the North American decent. It has been known that Europeans are more likely not to be circumcised due to their culture. I feel that it is important that new parents receive all the information that they need before making the decision seeing that there are more than enough pros and cons to circumcising a new born baby boy. Below I have included many cons. Cons of Newborn Male Circumcision: As with all surgical procedures, there are risks to newborn male circumcision. Some of these are: a. Excessing bleeding. b. Infection. c. Snipping of the glans (top of penis) accidentally (cases of these have been reported, though rare). d. Cutting the foreskin too short or keeping the foreskin too long. e. Possible future surgery to correct complications arising out of circumcision such as penile adhesions, tags, etc. f. Scar formation that requires a second surgey for removal. g. Adverse reactions to anesthetic drugs used during the procedure. Circumcised males generally experience less sensation, as a result of the process called keratinization, which progressively is thought to decrease sensitivity of the glans. The foreskin has a rich supply of blood vessels and nerve endings and is thought to play a crucial role in sexual stimulation in males. The foreskin makes it much easier for men to masturbate. Lack of foreskin necessitates requirement of artificial lubricants. The rolling-back-and-forth action of the foreskin provides for trauma-free stimulation, whereas circumcised ones may experience greater friction and trauma during stimulation. It is thought that male circumcisions were actively encouraged in the earlier part of the century primarily as a tool to discourage male masturbation. The foreskin is thought to both protect the glans by shielding it as well as protecting it keeping it moist and soft by shielding it against friction via clothing and thus keeping it sensitive. The foreskin contributes towards lubrication and the to-and-fro motion of the foreskin is thought to stimulate the female clitoris. This gliding action is thought to enhance pleasure both partners experience. Meatitis is more common in boys who have been circumcised. This stands to reason since, in circumcised boys the urethral meatus is more exposed and likely to be chafed or irritated than in boys who were not circumcised. There is no evidence that meatitis leads to narrowing (stenosis) of the urethral meatus or to other serious problems http://shil1978(dot)hubpages(dot)com/hub/Newborn-Male-Circumcision-Pros-and-Cons