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Circumcision

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Circumcision
Brianna Restrepo
COMM/215 ESSENTIALS OF COLLEGE WRITING
July 1, 2013
Professor Karen Lawler

Circumcision
To cut or not to cut? Will this procedure harm my child? What does my child gain from this procedure? These are questions all parents of little boys may be faced with when it comes to the topic of circumcision. There have been many arguments on whether circumcision is a beneficial procedure or just a cosmetic one. Most of the world does not view circumcision beneficial as the child grows, yet rather views it as a harmful procedure that the child cannot consent to depending on his age. It has been said that “there have been efforts in a number of countries to forbid the circumcision of infants and children.” (Isaacs, 2011) Despite the current decrease in circumcisions the most common reasons for this procedure to be done on a child are due to religious traditions, that the child’s father is circumcised, and the health benefits. As a firm believer that there are health benefits to this procedure, this paper will go over some of the benefits of circumcising your male child as well as the risks involved in the procedure.
One of the health benefits that a child obtains from being circumcised is the “protection against a horde of sexually transmitted infections.” (New Internationalist) Some of the sexual transmitted infections or diseases that are reduced in circumcised males are human papillomavirus or also known as HPV, genital herpes, and even human immunodeficiency virus or commonly known as HIV. Studies have shown that circumcision does not reduce the contraction of syphilis though. (Health.com) Other benefits that can be gained through circumcision are the reduced risk of developing penile cancer later in life, phimosis, and urinary tract infections. Although these are good reduced chances of contracting these infections or diseases, a

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