A Conversation with Aubrey Terrón

concerning circumcision and foreskin. This interview and 113 others on Bonobo3D’s Youtube Channel.

Spock on Infant Circumcision
 Authors description: In the 1940s and 1950s circumcision became quite common. By the 1960s, 90 percent of all male newborns in the United States were being circumcised as routine procedure. Ten years later, however, opinion among doctors swung away from the belief that certain groups of women developed cancer of the cervix because their husbands were uncircumcised. It was concluded that the cause was actually lack of good male hygiene - which is not as much of a problem in this country as it is in some other parts of the world. Also, by the early 1970s, more physicians - though not all - were aware of the psychological harm that could come from circumcision after infancy, and circumcision of an older child was not suggested as frequently as in the past.

Read his article on how he changed his mind here:http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/info/spock.html

In 1971 a task force of the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that there is no medical reason to recommend routine circumcision, and I voiced the same opinion in the 1976 revision of Baby and Child Care. I hoped that the controversy would then be settled once and for all. But today, there are again some physicians who favor routine circumcision because they are of the opinion (not substantiated by solid scientific proof) that circumcision will decrease, at least to a small degree, the risk of contracting various venereal diseases in adulthood. But many physicians, myself included, are unconvinced.

One recent study did indicate that urinary tract infections in infancy, which is an uncommon disease in boys, does occur less frequently among circumcised boys, but this has not yet been confirmed by further studies. There is no doubt in medical circles that routine circumcision does prevent cancer of the penis, but this is a very rare disease which causes only approximately 150 deaths a year in the United States. Should one million baby boys be circumcised each year because of this small risk? Each parent must answer that question for him or herself.

In view of the renewed controversy regarding circumcision, the American Academy of Pediatrics has again appointed a task force to reconsider its position on routine circumcision, although no final decision has yet been reached.

Though the debate continues within the medical community, parents do have a few facts and various opinions on which to base their own decision on this matter. In earlier days many parents were not informed about what the issues were. The attending obstetrician or an intern or resident would appear at the mother’s bedside a few days after delivery and say, “Do you want the boy circumcised?” or “I suppose you want him to be circumcised,” as if it were the only sensible choice.

We now know that it is not the only choice, nor is it agreed that it is the most sensible choice. My own preference, if I had the good fortune to have another son, would be to leave his little penis alone.