Circumcision of any kind should just be outlawed. Unless this is consent of the adult that wants their privates circumcised, no.

Quote from: Saint Endies on April 28, 2016, 09:01:14 PM

I think I once saw a reply on here to these sort of issues that was along the lines of "wait until they are older, then teach them about the pro's and con's, then let them decide".

Most would agree that this is generally a good approach. The only decent argument against making it illegal is that it will drive the procedure underground where it will be performed in clandestine and less safe circumstances.

Quote from: Saint Endies on April 29, 2016, 08:00:13 AM

Quote from: Flee on April 29, 2016, 07:39:50 AM

Quote from: Saint Endies on April 28, 2016, 09:01:14 PM

I think I once saw a reply on here to these sort of issues that was along the lines of "wait until they are older, then teach them about the pro's and con's, then let them decide".

Most would agree that this is generally a good approach. The only decent argument against making it illegal is that it will drive the procedure underground where it will be performed in clandestine and less safe circumstances.

Maybe if there was some sort of big effort or whatever to get more people to know the cons then more people would stop doing it?

I mean, forcefully circumcising baby's isn't going to go away, especially for males, because of religious reasons.

Yeah, the practice is likely to ultimately disappear on its own, although it will likely take a few more years or decades. A big problem is the amount of misinformation out there, so education is definitely the way forward. This article talks about it pretty well. I mean, when you see that people like Verb are still under the impression that, in his own words, uncut penises "voluminously produce pus", it immediately becomes very obvious how ignorance on the subject fuels this tradition.

Either way, circumcision rates have been declining in the US for years and the more research is done on the issue, the more it becomes clear that there's no sound reasons to continue doing it. One of the biggest problems in the US is how much of an interest doctors have in supporting the practice. There have been some pretty astounding documentaries and research on the topic and it really clears a lot of things up. The AAP, which is the last official medical organization in the world claiming the benefits outweigh the downsides, receives a lot of its funding from pharmaceuticals and cosmetic businesses. For those who don't know, cut foreskins are a big deal in cosmetics and are often used in all sorts of skin creams. The AAP has every reason to claim it's a great thing as they make a ton of money by supporting it. But even worse than the AAP are the doctors themselves. Circumcision in the US is no longer covered by most health insurances as it's considered an entirely cosmetic surgery. Parents who want it done have to pay hospitals and doctors directly for their services, which is something that can cost a few hundred dollars. There are doctors making 6 figures doing nothing but performing circumcisions. The business in the US alone is estimated to bring in a few millions of dollars for those promoting and performing them every year.

So when you take that into consideration, it becomes a lot more obvious why this is such a common practice in the US still. "Surely, you want it to be cleaner, healthier, less infected and better in general, right? At the low low price of $200, we can arrange that for you. The fact that what I just said is bogus and that literally the entire developed world save for this one country condemns the practice is obviously not something I will share with you, because I can make a lot of money convincing you that you're better off doing this to your child and capitalizing of your ignorance."

But yeah, more research and better education will ultimately reduce the practice by a ton. It'll just take some time in some parts where the authorities have such a vested and financial interest in promoting it while the rest of the world keeps bringing more and more medical research to the table that supports not doing it.