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Following the discovery of bacteria as a cause of many diseases – such as tuberculosis – the search began for other illnesses that could be prevented by circumcision.
In 1870 the renowned Dr. [[Lewis A. Sayre ]] of NYC’s famed Bellevue Hospital<ref>https://nypost.com/2016/12/03/bellevues-doctors-invented-the-procedures-you-take-for-granted/</ref> claimed to cure a boy’s paralyzed legs with circumcision. Sayre's wild advocacy of circumcision exemplified how some [https://intaction.org/circumcision-facts-and-myths/ circumcision facts and myths] originated. He also claimed to cure epilepsy, mental disorders, hip-joint pain, & hernias with circumcision. “Genital irritations” & masturbation were deemed to be the cause of these issues. Sayre was later elected as the President of the American Medical Association. <ref>American Medical Association. Transactions of the American Medical Association. 1870;21:205–11</ref>
In the 1920s it was penile cancer. [[Abraham L. Wolbarst ]] (1926) claims that circumcision can prevent penile cancer.<ref name="wolbarst1926">{{REFjournal
|last=Wolbarst
|first=Abraham L.
}}</ref>
In the 1980s, UTIs. [[Thomas E. Wiswell ]] (1985) claims that circumcision, using a methodologically flawed report, reduces the risk of urinary tract infections.<ref name="wiswell1985">{{REFjournal
|last=Wiswell
|first=Thomas E.
}}</ref>
[[Aaron J. Fink ]] (1986), with no evidence whatsoever, claims that circumcision protects against AIDS followed.<ref name="fink1986">{{REFjournal
|last=Fink
|first=Aaron J.