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== Rationale ==
Reasons for performing circumcision range widely by culture, religion, location, and age.
===Cultural===
Many cultures perform circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood. This is common in the Middle East and amongst some indigenous African and Southeast Asian peoples.
The United States and Israel are the only industrialized countries in the world to have a high incidence of non-therapeutic infant male circumcision. The vast majority of infant circumcisions performed in the United States are for non-religious, non-medical reasons. See [[History of circumcision]].
===Religious===
The circumcision of newborn boys is seen as a divine commandment in the Jewish faith. Though absent in the Koran, male circumcision is considered a religious requirement in Islam, and it is performed on male children of varying ages. Converts to these faiths may also choose to undergo circumcision, but it is not always required.
===Medical indication===
In some cases, circumcision is legitimately indicated; a patient may be suffering recurring infections, and other methods of treatment have failed. In other cases, a patient may be suffering from a severe case of [[phimosis]]. Overall, the actual medical necessity for circumcision is extremely rare.
====Arguments of prophylaxia====
Though the practice of ritual circumcision of males, both consenting and non-consenting, has existed for millenia, the search for "potential medical benefits" began relatively recently. Initially, circumcision was adopted as a way to stop boys and men from masturbating, where mastubration was seen as the cause for many diseases. As the myth that circumcision prevented [[masturbation]] became debunked, advocates of circumcision began the great search to find the "medical benefits" of circumcision.
Male and female circumcision involves the removal and disruption of normal anatomical structures that are primary areas of sexual sensation.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Taylor
|first=J.R.
|last2=Lockwood
|first2=A.P.
|last3=Taylor
|first3=A.J.
|title=The prepuce: Specialized mucosa of the penis and its loss to circumcision
|journal=British Journal of Urology International
|volume=77
|issue=
|pages=291-95
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/taylor/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8800902
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1996-2
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> In the past, some advocates of mass circumcision have considered the prepuce to be a "mistake of nature,"<ref>
<nowiki>{{Cold and Wiswell (1995)}} | [[Template:Cold and Wiswell (1995)|see more]]</nowiki></p>
</ref> but this notion has no validity because the prepuce is ubiquitous in primates and because it provides functional advantages.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Cold
|first=Christopher
|last2=McGrath
|first2=Kenneth
|author2-link=Ken McGrath
|year=1999
|title=Male and female circumcision: medical, legal, and ethical considerations in pediatric practice
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Anatomy and histology of the penile and clitoral prepuce in primates
|pages=
|location=New York
|publisher=
|isbn=0306461315
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=
}}</ref>


===Search for prophylactic reasons===
===Search for prophylactic reasons===
Line 1,072: Line 1,137:


The term "circumcision" without a gender qualifier refers specifically to male circumcision. It means "to cut around," and it refers to the excision of the [[foreskin]] from the penis. Circumcision is most often performed in healthy males for [[Religion and Culture|religious or cultural]] reasons. The procedure may be performed on consenting adults, but it is most often performed on non-consenting minors, particularly newborn children, which is why the ritual is so controversial. Opponents of circumcision consider the circumcision of non-consenting minors to be unethical and a human rights violation, unless there is concrete medical indication. Proponents of circumcision consider the circumcision of non-consenting minors to be a "religious freedom" and a "parental right."
The term "circumcision" without a gender qualifier refers specifically to male circumcision. It means "to cut around," and it refers to the excision of the [[foreskin]] from the penis. Circumcision is most often performed in healthy males for [[Religion and Culture|religious or cultural]] reasons. The procedure may be performed on consenting adults, but it is most often performed on non-consenting minors, particularly newborn children, which is why the ritual is so controversial. Opponents of circumcision consider the circumcision of non-consenting minors to be unethical and a human rights violation, unless there is concrete medical indication. Proponents of circumcision consider the circumcision of non-consenting minors to be a "religious freedom" and a "parental right."
== Rationale ==
Reasons for performing circumcision range widely by culture, religion, location, and age.
===Cultural===
Many cultures perform circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood. This is common in the Middle East and amongst some indigenous African and Southeast Asian peoples.
The United States and Israel are the only industrialized countries in the world to have a high incidence of non-therapeutic infant male circumcision. The vast majority of infant circumcisions performed in the United States are for non-religious, non-medical reasons. See [[History of circumcision]].
===Religious===
The circumcision of newborn boys is seen as a divine commandment in the Jewish faith. Though absent in the Koran, male circumcision is considered a religious requirement in Islam, and it is performed on male children of varying ages. Converts to these faiths may also choose to undergo circumcision, but it is not always required.
===Medical indication===
In some cases, circumcision is legitimately indicated; a patient may be suffering recurring infections, and other methods of treatment have failed. In other cases, a patient may be suffering from a severe case of [[phimosis]]. Overall, the actual medical necessity for circumcision is extremely rare.
====Arguments of prophylaxia====
Though the practice of ritual circumcision of males, both consenting and non-consenting, has existed for millenia, the search for "potential medical benefits" began relatively recently. Initially, circumcision was adopted as a way to stop boys and men from masturbating, where mastubration was seen as the cause for many diseases. As the myth that circumcision prevented [[masturbation]] became debunked, advocates of circumcision began the great search to find the "medical benefits" of circumcision.
Male and female circumcision involves the removal and disruption of normal anatomical structures that are primary areas of sexual sensation.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Taylor
|first=J.R.
|last2=Lockwood
|first2=A.P.
|last3=Taylor
|first3=A.J.
|title=The prepuce: Specialized mucosa of the penis and its loss to circumcision
|journal=British Journal of Urology International
|volume=77
|issue=
|pages=291-95
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/taylor/
|quote=
|pubmedID=8800902
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|date=1996-2
|accessdate=2019-10-12
}}</ref> In the past, some advocates of mass circumcision have considered the prepuce to be a "mistake of nature,"<ref>
<nowiki>{{Cold and Wiswell (1995)}} | [[Template:Cold and Wiswell (1995)|see more]]</nowiki></p>
</ref> but this notion has no validity because the prepuce is ubiquitous in primates and because it provides functional advantages.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Cold
|first=Christopher
|last2=McGrath
|first2=Kenneth
|author2-link=Ken McGrath
|year=1999
|title=Male and female circumcision: medical, legal, and ethical considerations in pediatric practice
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/
|work=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter=Anatomy and histology of the penile and clitoral prepuce in primates
|pages=
|location=New York
|publisher=
|isbn=0306461315
|quote=
|accessdate=2019-10-12
|note=
}}</ref>


== Complications ==
== Complications ==
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