Changes

'''Abraham Leo Wolbarst''', {{MD}}, ({{LifeData|1872|1952}}) a New York City physicianand [[circumcised doctors| circumcised doctor]], was a notorious promoter of harmful non-therapeutic neonatal male [[circumcision]].

}}</ref> Wolbarst was incensed by what he perceived as an attack on [[Brit Milah| ritual circumcision]], so he resolved to defend ritual circumcision by arguing that [[circumcision]] provided health benefits. Wolbarst's defense of circumcision was published in ''JAMA'' in 1914 and entitled "''Universal Circumcision as a Sanitary Measure''".<ref name="wolbarst1914">{{REFjournal

|date=1914-101-10

This was before the days of evidence-based medicine, when doctors relied on medical ''opinion'', instead of scientific ''evidence''. Wolbarst collected the ''opinions'' of several physicians and published those opinions as evidence for his argument that circumcision prevented diseases. Wolbarst argued that non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision prevented numerous diseases including venereal disease (now known as sexually transmitted disease).

Wolbarst's article appeared on Skeldon (2008) commented:<blockquote>At first one might think that there was now a wave of medical evidence supporting the eve practice of routine male circumcision, but a closer look shows that most of World War Ithese claimswere observational and not evidence-based. It apparently influenced American military commanders to order For instance, in his article “Universalcircumcision as a sanitary measure,” the New York physician Abraham Leo Wolbarst(1872-1978) argues that circumcision prevents masturbation. During its publication, thiswas already a commonly held view and so was not generally questioned. But if oneconsiders the implications of military personnel under their command this, it becomes apparent that to prevent venereal diseases and improve military readinessstatistically prove such aclaim among young boys would be virtually impossible. This is why Wolbarst’s evidence consisted of what he called “authoritative observations” from other respectedpractitioners in the field.<ref name="hill2002skeldon2008">{{REFwebREFconference |urllast=Skeldon |first=Sean |author-link=http://purewatergazette.net/circumcision.htm |title=The Rise Medicalization and Fall Resultant Decline of Neonatal Circumcision: The Irrational Abuse Of Helpless Childrenin Canada

|lasturl=Hillhttps://prism.ucalgary.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/028cdb7b-3536-4b5b-921b-46ba3a2262ec/content |firstarchived=George |author-linkplace=George HillCalgary, AB |publisher=Health Sciences Centre |websitesource=purewatergazette |date=20022008-03 |datefrom=2008-1103-0407 |accessdatedateto=20202008-03-3008 |format=PDF |quoteaccessdate=2025-01-19}}</ref></blockquote> Wolbarst's article appeared on the eve of World War I. It apparently influenced American military commanders to order [[adult circumcision| circumcision]] of military personnel under their command to prevent venereal diseases and improve military readiness.<ref name="skeldon2008" /> No statistics exist to document how many men were [[circumcised ]] because of Wolbarst's article.

}}</ref> Maden ''et al'' (1993) reported [[penile cancer ]] among a fifth of elderly patients from rural areas who had been [[circumcised]] neonatally and had been born at a time when the rate of neonatal [[circumcision]] was about 20% in rural populations.<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> Their study also shows that the rate of [[penile cancer ]] among men circumcised neonatally has risen in the [[United States ]] relative to the rise in the rate of neonatal [[circumcision]].