Circumcision

“Male circumcision provides a degree of protection against acquiring HIV infection, equivalent to what a vaccine of high efficacy would have achieved. Male circumcision may provide an important way of reducing the spread of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa.”

“Circumcised males do not benefit from their circumcision but instead only suffer pain and permanent disfigurement of their genitalia.”

“Our conclusion is that circumcision is neither a compelling prophylactic measure nor a form of child abuse. For this reason, nontherapeutic circumcision of infant boys is a suitable matter for parental discretion.”

“To cut off the uppermost skin of the secret parts is directly against the honesty of nature, and an injurious insufferable trick put upon her.”

“Circumcision counts for nothing, and its lack makes no difference either. What matters is keeping God’s commandments.”

“[The] Task Force did recommend making all parents aware of the potential benefits and risks of circumcision and leaving it to the family to decide whether circumcision is in the best interests of their child.”

“Analgesia is safe and effective in reducing the procedural pain associated with circumcision; therefore, if a decision for circumcision is made, procedural analgesia should be provided.”

“While I continue to be troubled by new and creative manifestations of anti-Semitism, the truth is, I’m still not really sure how I feel about the bris. This entire series of events mostly makes me wonder about the centrality of masculinity in our cultures — Jewish and Western. It feels like this entire story is a kind of male turf war, a battle over whose penis is superior. It’s as if the uncircumcised penis is as much of a threat to Jewish identity as the circumcised penis is to Gentiles.”

“If a man decides he wants to be circumcised, just as if a woman decides she’d prefer a different cup size, then it’s a decision they should be free to make – but only when old enough to make the decision.”

“I think it should be enough to simply state: all genital mutilation is wrong. I don’t discriminate between which gender should suffer genital mutilation, and which shouldn’t – that very distinction, right there, is the precise definition of sexual discrimination.”

“Circumcising a baby boy to protect against STDs is like selling your car to make sure he's never injured in a crash.”

“Why is the operation of circumcision practiced? One might as well attempt to explain the rites of voodoo!”

“Circumcision is a solution looking for a problem. The medical profession bears responsibility for the introduction of prophylactic circumcision without scientific basis in the past and for its continued use and rationalization without scientific basis in the present.”

“If I was a newborn baby tonight and I could speak and I was asked about circumcision, I would say, "Can you hold off a bit until I can make up my own mind."”

“Where possible, circumcision should not be done until the person is able to give informed consent.”

“God designed us, circumcision is blasphemy.”

“Circumcision is like a substantial and well-secured annuity; every year of life you draw the benefits. Parents cannot make a better paying investment for their little boys.”

“Despite overwhelming evidence from urological surgeons that neoplasm of the penis is a lethal disease that can be prevented by removal of the foreskin, some physicians continue to argue against routine circumcision in a highly emotional and aggressive fashion.”

“The multiple benefits of newborn circumcision are additive over a lifetime and include prevention of cancer of the penis, of balanoposthitis, and protection against the effects of phimosis and poor hygiene as well as prevention of UTI and STD, particularly of HIV.”

“In an apparent effort to bolster the weak anticircumcision argument, 2 anecdotal beliefs are added to the listed reasons not to choose circumcision: the "protective benefit" of the foreskin on the tip of the penis and the belief that circumcision causes decreased sexual pleasure later in life. Neither of these anecdotal beliefs meets the stated criterion of being evidence-based.”