Parity-A Call for the Worldwide Condemnation and Criminalization of Infant Male Genital Mutilation [Circumcision]

Female genital mutilation has been condemned far more than male genital mutilation. There seems to be a conspiracy in the scientific community to ignore the benefits of the intact prepuce (foreskin) and to deny the horrors of male genital mutilation. Science and human rights must always trump and triumph over superstition. The prepuce is on the penis for a purpose. The foreskin/prepuce is not something to be jettisoned like the umbilical cord. When the umbilical cord is severed neither baby nor mother feel any pain. Why? Because there are no nerves in the umbilical cord. Ditto when fingernails or hair is cut. Is this the case when an infant male is mutilated/circumcised? Not at all. Male circumcision in both infant and adult males produces pain lasting from hours to days. This is because the foreskin/ prepuce is innervated. The prepuce has somatosensory nerves linked to the oral nerve of the penis and branching into the scrotum. Not to mention autonomic nerves from the pelvic plexus. The prepuce protects the glans penis and urinary meatus. The foreskin contains Meissner corpuscles and natural lubricants. The bottom line is that the prepuce/foreskin is a fully fledged and essential body part-not an appendage to be excised. Nor is it temporary or transitory like milk teeth. The prepuce has a purpose. It lowers penis temperature, increases penis girth, protects the penis from chaffing and increases comfort and pleasure during coitus. And who knows which other functions of the foreskin scientists might discover in the future?

Enough is enough! Let us put an end to this barbaric child abuse called circumcision. Countries with infant male genital mutilation rates above 95% include Turkey, Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Eritrea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Nigeria, Tunisia, Togo, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Countries with infant male genital mutilation rates below 10% include Japan, Greece, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Argentina and Austria [1-11].

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4. Circumcised vs uncircumcised: Pros and cons to consider.
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10. Table 1 Percentage of circumcised males in each of the 237 countries and territories in the world.
11. Esther BH, Aaron ART, Jeffrey DK, Joya B, Catherine AH, et al. (2016) Estimation of country-specific and global prevalence of male circumcision Popul Health Metr 14: 4.