Recent news headlines are focusing on Bill Gates blasting the G8 countries for not contributing their share of funds in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. When I checked up on some of the articles I stumbled across this article that I thought I would share with you. I'm not trying to sway you either way on this issue.
My wife and I really struggled with the issue of circumcision before our first son was born. We knew that the heaviest influence on whether parents had their son circumcised or not circumcised was based on the status of the father. That wasn't good enough for us. We wanted more/better information before making a decision.
We ultimately based our decision (in part) on preliminary research that slightly tilted the scales in favor of circumcision. The information we found at that time focused on circumcision as a means to limit entry of HIV/STDs into the human host (by other mechanisms than the one defined in the above article).
The researcher mentioned in the article states:
"Other things being equal, in a circumcised population you have a low and slowly developing epidemic and in an uncircumcised population you have a high and fast developing epidemic."
In my opinion, we need to be objective and acknowledge the facts without injecting our emotions into the issue of circumcision.
Disclaimer: Before I get angry comments equating my support of circumcision with 'female circumcision' let me state my opinion on this entirely separate issue. Female circumcision is nothing more than a means to oppress women through violence. Female circumcision involves removing vital tissue (in various degrees) required for normal sexual function and should be outlawed wherever it is practiced. Circumcision of the male foreskin is not, I repeat, not the same thing so please do not leave me comments equating the two.
The Deal About Nothing
6 years ago
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I was adamently against circumcision for a long time. When my son was born at 27 weeks, we were just worried about keeping him alive, so we just left the penis debate alone.
ReplyDeleteHe was diagnosed with spastic quad. CP right around his first birthday.
Even though we kept his diaper dry and his penis clean, he still had reoccuring UTI's. (Poor little man!) He had to have a hernia repair when he was 3 and we opted to have him circumsized at that time.
Since that was done, he's not had one UTI. It changed my tune when it came to circumcision. (He's now 5! Where in the heck does time go?!)
I left my beliefs that circumcision was "cruel" at the door when I saw how much it helped my son.
I LURVE your blog. I'm a nursing student in Ohio. :)
I just didn't want anyone making fun of my kid in gym class, but my nephew had a lot of problems with foreskin, and had to have a circumcision done when he was about 2. Ouch!! His mom was really mad at herself for letting anti-circumcision literature make her feel too guilty to do it in the first place.
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