[quote=Navydoc]Believe it or not, I suspect the pendulum on this is about to swing back in favor of circumcision. Why? I think it has a lot to do with the STD prevention benefits, which are not inconsequential. You do not have to be gay to contract HIV by “sticking it” in an HIV+ person. Ask most of Africa. There is a strong movement from WHO to encourage circumcision in countries with very high heterosexual HIV transmission. In circumcised males the female-to-male transmission is extremely low, even if the female has a relatively high viral load. I took care of a sero-discordant couple last year who conceived the old fashioned way, and he remains negative even after several years of unprotected intercourse. Marital life with condoms is not too appealing to a lot of people.

If you think this isn’t a factor consider this: that Hep B series your kid needed before they went to school is done in anticipation of adolescent sexual activity.[/quote]
Heterosexual HIV transmission in USA = 0.0
Circumcising baby boys in the USA to protect them against HIV is ridiculous.
As far as vaccinating is concerned, I got my kids every possible vaccination. Yes, including HPV and Hep B.
And no, I didn’t cut the tip of my boy’s dick off.
I was circumcised and (1) it didn’t protect me from HPV (sorry, ladies, had warts) (2) never had sex with an HIV+ woman (or man) so being cut didn’t do me one bit of good.

Translating epidemiology from Africa to here is silly. Want to prevent AIDS, get people to use condoms and not share needles.

Don’t circumcise all baby boys without their consent to enable the few marriages between a HIV+ woman and HIV- man. In that case, he can get snipped on his own time.

All these arguments beg the question: Do parents have the right to cut a baby’s body long before the baby grows up and decides what choices to make? That baby that doctors are mutilating will not be sexually active for fifteen years.

If you cut the guy’s entire dick off, STD transmission is reduced to zero.