Frequently Asked Questions

No. No national medical association in the world recommends routine circumcision of infants. Bodies in the UK, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Australia and Canada explicitly advise against it, and the American Academy of Pediatrics found the potential benefits 'not great enough' to recommend it for all newborns. Where a genuine medical problem appears, it can almost always be treated without removing the whole foreskin.

No — most men on earth are intact. Circumcision is near-universal mainly in Muslim-majority countries and Israel (for religious reasons) and in the United States (for non-religious, cultural reasons). Across Europe, Latin America and East Asia — Japan, China, Korea, Thailand — routine infant circumcision is rare or unknown. Where it survives as a cultural rite, such as 'tuli' in the Philippines, it is increasingly being questioned.

Circumcision permanently removes healthy, functional tissue from a person who cannot consent. This conflicts with the bioethical principles of autonomy (the right to decide about one's own body), non-maleficence (do no harm), and informed consent that govern modern medical practice.

The foreskin serves multiple functions: it protects the glans, maintains moisture and sensitivity, contains specialized nerve endings for sexual sensation, and provides mechanical function during intercourse. It contains approximately 20,000 nerve endings.

Almost certainly not. Most men in the world — and the great majority in Europe, Latin America, East Asia and the UK — are intact, so being intact is the global norm, not the exception. Even in the United States, circumcision has fallen for decades and a growing share of boys are intact, especially on the West Coast. Children rarely scrutinise each other, and 'fitting in' is not a medical reason to remove healthy tissue.

The main alternative is simply not circumcising. If your son develops a medical issue later, most foreskin conditions can be treated with conservative methods like steroid creams or minor procedures that preserve the foreskin. Full circumcision is rarely medically necessary.