Since it's a non-reversible surgical intervention, I think it should be done only with the consent of the person being circumcised - which means not as babies.

The bigger issue for me is doing it to children. Let them do it if they want. People think it's more sanitary, well that's what soap is for.

My first born was circumcised. They cut him, and then gave him to me to take home. That poor boy screamed for over 10hrs; of course the nurses stated that he could not feel pain. My second son is not circumcised.

I personally feel that circumcision of baby boys and ear piercing of baby girls is an unnecessary pain and it should not be done.

In my view, it is totally unnessary. If done to children, it is child abuse.

My opinion matters little. I have only seen them cut (no intacts). I know that the procedure hurts (babies cry) and would not DARE make such a personal decision for anyone, infant or otherwise.

What I wanna know is: Who put a knife to someone else's dick and thought it was a good idea? That's the real issue here.

Funny, but why do most people consider it acceptable, while these same folks are against (strongly against!) female circumcision? I personally think that it should be up to the person having it done. No parent over-ruling.

First off, being cleaner is a myth. Just like any other part of your body, wash it and it will stay clean.
It IS some old religious superstitious nonsense that mutilates the body and reduces sensitivity.
The reduction of sensitivity was probably planned so there wouldn't be too much sexual pleasure to anger god.

It's great to see how many of you are against it. To say that it is about cleanliness implies that the penis, like the vagina, is intrinsically dirty. That's religion for you!

Absolutely against it. Trace the money. Every circumcision is a boat payment for a doctor.
Doctors prey on uninformed women feeding them a line of bull about cleanliness, etc.
They should be jailed for medical Mal-practice.

Absolute forced mutilation on a baby... There is ZERO legitimate reason for it, aside from arbitrary aesthetic reasons. In which case, fuck you. Why not crop ears, give babies tattoos, and do some other ridiculous aesthetic changes, without their consent, because you as the parent likes the way it looks. Disgusting.

I think the biggest crime to circumcision is that it is mostly done do babies. It woudl be one thign if an adult decided to do ti for cosmetic reasons, but it shoud be the choice of th eperson who is beign circumcised.

I'm guessing that most people writing here are from the US. I'm from Scotland, and circumcision is something that just wouldn't even be thought about here, or anywhere in the UK. I don't think it's actually illegal, as it should be, since female genital mutilation is, and honestly I don't see the difference. It may be legal, but that is probably in part to the Jewish communities who are the only ones in the UK that I know of who still carry this out as part of their religion.

being the son of a nurse it was believed to reduce infection, and other risks. Education has taught me that the risk of infection comes more from uneducated parents than reality. If it reduces sensitivity.. I wouldn't want to be more sensitive than I already am..

I think it should be left up to the individual to decide for themselves when they're of an appropriate age. It's a pretty simple compromise to a lingering debate.

I would rather be tortured to death than have my sons cut.

We've been evolving for a while and natural selection didn't kill off all the dirty ancestors who had them with disease and infection, so I'd venture the guess that there's no natural reason to remove a foreskin.

Never had a choice in the matter, so I live with it.

I'm used to circumcised penises as a gay male living in the US, but I am also familiar with uncircumcised penis. If they are freshly washed, there is no difference. Logically and scientifically, the foreskin is there for a reason. Has anyone noticed that male mammals have foreskins? Aesthetically, I like the head of the penis and I do not care for penises where the skin is tight and does not pull back, but that is not the usual. A cultural bias should not be a justification for mutilation.

Unless there is a medical reason , or you are an adult and want it done , leave well alone .
Mutilating baby boys indeed !! Horrible practise .. All that nonsense about being cleaner .. Soap and water seems to work quite well I believe . As for circumcising a baby, I can only assume that the religious can improve on their supreme creators work ... Should be outlawed as Is FGM .

I discovered the hard way that evolution had designed the foreskin for a reason. I had spent the day sailing single handed during a particularly hot period and so had been in the altogether for most of the day, and then as darkness fell and I had dropped an anchor and gone down below to get some rest I realised that I was severely sunburned on a particularly sensitive part of my body. If I'd not been circumcised as a child I'd not have been sunburned there.

I never had a choice in the matter my parents made the decision for me. I have read that it has reduced the cases of cancer of the penis significantly.

Unfortunately I was too young and had no decision making capabilities. Knowing what I know now I would look for alternatives unless it becomes the only choice.

I had a circumcision as an adult. I am OCD clean, but when I was 35 years old, I had a series of bacterial infections that caused extreme pain. I required a catheter to urinate. I got the procedure, out of pocket cost was $101. I have not had any more infections. Sex wise, I always had good control of my orgasms. I could usually finish whenever I wanted to. Now, it takes forever, to the point that it usually becomes very uncomfortable to my partner (woman). In hindsight, I wish I could have fought thru and not got the procedure. Turns out my partner had feminine issues that may have been the cause. But, besides the orgasm issue, I don't regret the cosmetic or cost issues. The recovery was nearly painless. Before this, I had never had surgery and never had stitches. Recovery pain was a 1 or 2 of 10. The pre-op pain of infection was a 300 or 400 of 10 .