Infant Circumcision is the Healthiest Choice, Says New Study

A new study has raised a lot of eyebrows and tempers in the ongoing debate about infants and circumcision.

According to an article over at the The Daily Beast, the recently released study, published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings medical journal claims that having your infant circumcised promotes health benefits that actually outshine any risks by a factor of 100 to 1.

Of course, this viewpoint isn't exactly a fresh one. Over the past decade or so there have been a slew of advocates for and against circumcision, many of them fueled by perpetual argument about it all over the Internet.

Still, whenever an opinion comes down from the world of medical professionals, it inevitably makes waves.

This particular study, according to The Daily Beast, is largely the work of one of its authors, Professor Emeritus at The University of Sydney, Australia and Brian J. Morris, a well-known supporter of circumcision. Using a comparison to vaccines as an example, Morris has been advocating circumcision over non-circumcision as the healthiest choice parents can make for their children, going so far as to say that the public health benefits of the procedure are an important step towards a healthier society overall.

Vaccines "have a major population level benefit, but carry a risk that affects a very small proportion of individuals who receive the intervention. There are also extremely rarely deaths from each," Morris tells The Daily Beast. But "a vaccine is highly specific, whereas the protective effects of circumcision cover a wide array of medical conditions."

Related: The pros and cons of infant circumcision

Health benefits of circumcision that the study make mention of include:

-Prevention of urinary tract infections

- Prevention of penile cancer

- Prevention of the transmission of some sexually transmitted infections (HIV included)

Morris even goes so far as to tell The Daily Beast, "Denial of infant male circumcision is denial of his rights to good health, something that all responsible parents should consider carefully."

Strong, strong words indeed.

Yet, like any other so-called verdict that comes down regarding whether or not infants ought to be circumcised, there are a host of voices from all corners of the proverbial court which are attempting to question or shoot-down this new study's findings.

The Daily Beast even shines a light on the fact that some of the study's claims may be a bit misleading when it reports that, although Morris' includes decreased risk of penile cancer in the study's list of circumcision health benefits, "…the actual or absolute risk of penile cancer is so small (about 1 in 100,000) that an increased risk is still hardly any risk at all."

Either way, the jury is certainly still out.

And the debate rages on.

-Photo Credit: Keep Calm O Matic

-By: Serge Bielanko

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