Opponents point to other studies that indicate few medical benefits of circumcision. They argue it leads to decreased sexual sensitivity and say the procedure is risky, painful and cruel.
Parents wondering what to make of all this won't get a yes or no from their pediatricians. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend the practice, but doesn't discourage it either. In a 1999 policy statement that reviewed data, the organization said: "Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision."
Dr. Timothy Doran, chief of pediatrics at Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, says he is often peppered with questions on the issue from soon-to-be parents. "I tell them that this is their own personal, religious and ethical decision, and I will support them either way," he said.
Making the decision is not always easy.
Gary and Kazuyo Kegan were uncertain what to do upon learning that they were expecting twins - a girl and a boy. Kazuyo Kegan, an assistant researcher at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center, began asking her colleagues questions. A native of Japan, she knew circumcision is rare in her home country, but wanted the latest medical answers. Meanwhile, Gary Kegan, who assumed his son would be circumcised just as he had been, began reading everything he could on the Web. Finally, the couple chose to circumcise their son, Alex, now 3 months old.
"It was a health-related choice, if nothing else," Gary Kegan said. "We noted the health benefits. There is a little less risk of urinary tract infections and some types of cancers involved. And that alone was enough."
Pediatricians tend to agree about studies concerning urinary tract infections, which have found that uncircumcised infants are about 10 times more likely to get an infection in their first year. But the findings about the impact on sexual sensitivity and contracting sexually transmitted diseases are less clear.
Opponents of circumcision note that when the foreskin is removed from the penis, an infant has lost the most sensitive area of the genitalia. "You're taking an infant's procreative organs and causing extreme pain," said Dr. Mark D. Reiss, a radiologist and executive vice president of Doctors Opposing Circumcision.
