AntiCircNorth America
of males circumcised
High prevalence
Estimated share of males circumcised
Estimates derived from WHO/UNAIDS-based prevalence data. Global average ≈ 38%.
Roughly two-thirds of American boys are circumcised as newborns, usually in hospital and framed as a medical or hygienic choice — the only country to circumcise most infant boys for non-religious reasons.
Circumcision prevalence with HIV, education & policy indicators as context. Tap any card to compare.
% of males
71%
Context indicators from public UNAIDS/WHO-based sources; some scores are editorial or pending. Figures describe each country and are not evidence of causation.
HIV and related indicators — context, not proof that circumcision protects.
Circumcision is often sold as protection against HIV and other infections. That claim comes from a narrow set of trials and applies, at most, to one route of transmission — it is not general STI protection. The figures below describe United States; they reflect many factors (testing, behaviour, healthcare access, and reporting) and are not evidence that circumcision causes or prevents them.
How STIs actually spread — and what protects you1 in 250 adults
1 in 10,000 people
66 / 100
down 12% — getting better
How well-equipped young people are with the facts.
Comprehensive sex education is widely regarded as the most effective — and least invasive — tool for sexual health. This score estimates the gap between what young people in United States are taught and best practice: a higher number means a wider gap. Education, not surgery, is what consistently improves outcomes.
Who profits from infant foreskins.
The United States is the commercial centre of the foreskin trade. Because most American circumcisions are performed on newborns in hospitals, the removed tissue feeds a real industry: neonatal foreskin fibroblasts are used in anti-ageing skincare, lab-grown skin grafts for burns and wounds, drug and vaccine research, and widely sold cell lines. A single foreskin can be cultured into a large amount of tissue worth a great deal — a non-consensual procedure turned into a supply chain.
How complete and source-backed this country file is.
Sources
15
Legal status
Curated
Write-up
Available
Incidents
3 verified
Derived from current data.
Open full research fileLegal status of non-therapeutic circumcision of minors.
No law restricts non-therapeutic infant circumcision.
The United States has no statute restricting non-therapeutic infant circumcision, which is performed with parental consent. It is the only country where most infant boys are circumcised for non-religious reasons.
Peer-reviewed findings specific to this country, from our reference library.
“Man ‘prayed a blessing,’ then circumcised boy at home with utility tool, officials say.” Missouri case: severe bleeding, unauthorized at-home surgery, child-abuse allegations; charges filed against t
“Bill to cut Medicaid circumcision spending returns to New Hampshire legislature.” Frames circumcision as a Medicaid / medical-necessity / bodily-autonomy issue (HB 94).
“The ‘Intactivists’ Campaigning Against the Cut.” Feature on organized anti-circumcision activism (Intaction, Anthony Losquadro) — bodily autonomy, sexual function, later complications.
“By a single vote, New Hampshire House passes legislation to remove circumcision from Medicaid.” HB 94 passes House by one vote (later died in the Senate, 17 Apr 2025).
Equal-protection lawsuit (filed 27–28 Mar 2025; funded by Intact Global, lead counsel Eric Clopper) arguing Oregon’s anti-FGM statute protects girls but not boys/intersex children from non-consensual
“Circumcision at NYC hospital almost made baby bleed to death, parents say.” Prolonged bleeding, multiple surgeries, transfusions, alleged organ/brain injury; informed-consent concerns (congenital hea
“The Case Against Circumcision.” Large-circulation magazine essay: consent, sexual function, lubrication, historical medicalization, the author’s regret over a religious circumcision.
“Gary Shteyngart’s Tragicomedy of the Penis in ‘The Guy Who Got Cut Wrong.’” Botched-circumcision narrative centred on lasting psychological, self-image and relational effects.
“RFK Jr. linked circumcision and Tylenol to autism. Here’s what scientists say.” Explanatory health piece that does NOT validate the claim — documents how weak/disputed studies enter politics, then as
OB-GYN Dr. Hong-An Jan (Garden Grove, Orange County, CA) allegedly injected a 2-day-old with Demerol instead of a local anaesthetic during a circumcision (Feb 2024); the infant died ~17 hours later. I
2012 AAP circumcision policy statement (the document repeatedly invoked on both sides of U.S. coverage): benefits said to outweigh risks but “not great enough” to recommend routine circumcision — leav
“Factors Associated With Early Deaths Following Neonatal Male Circumcision in the United States.” Found ~200 early deaths over 2001–2010 among 9,833,110 inpatient neonatal circumcisions — explicitly f
Inpatient newborn male circumcision in the US fell ~54%→49% (2012–2022); by 2011, 17 states had ended Medicaid coverage for routine neonatal circumcision — context for funding fights and activist liti
Individual cases reported in the press or official records — not a measured complication rate. See all countries →
A newborn nearly bled to death after a hospital circumcision; parents described multiple surgeries, transfusions, and alleged organ and brain injury.
Baby Cole Groth, circumcised at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley; parents said they were not warned of elevated risk. Outcome as reported at publication (critical condition). Verified via deep-research (CBS NY 25 Apr 2025; corroborated by CNN, Law&Crime, People).
A couple in Versailles / Morgan County, Missouri (Tyler Wade & Bailey Gibson) performed an at-home circumcision on a child with no medical training (~late Nov 2024); severe bleeding followed and child-abuse charges were filed.
Framed as a child-safety / unauthorized-surgery case.
OB-GYN Dr. Hong-An Jan allegedly injected a 2-day-old with Demerol instead of a local anaesthetic during a circumcision (Feb 2024); the infant died ~17 hours later. An involuntary-manslaughter charge followed and the licence was suspended.
Verified via deep-research: corrects the date (procedure Feb 2024, not 2026) and names the doctor (Hong-An Jan). The “Mar 2026 LA Times” framing was the one detail that did NOT verify — the case itself is real and multiply sourced (Law&Crime, KOMO, AOL); a precise LA Times byline/date is unconfirmed.
International evidence for reading the figures above — not measured United States rates.
~1,400,920 circumcisions, all ages (US insurance claims data)
Total adverse events under 0.5%; serious AEs ~0.0008%–0.07%. Crucially, AE rates 10–20× higher when done AFTER infancy (ages 1–9) than neonatally — directly relevant where boys are cut older (e.g. PH tuli at ~8–12).
[104]Voluntary medical male circumcision, ages 10–14, trained providers
Severe adverse events on the order of 1–3 per 100,000 — but ONLY with trained providers, quality assurance and informed consent. The benchmark for what safe, supervised provision looks like; the opposite end from informal provision.
[105]Cases reported to WHO, 2014–2018
WHO logged 32 urethral-fistula cases (2014–2018) and, in one tetanus consultation, 8 deaths among 12 associated cases. Illustrative of rare-but-severe harms in unhygienic settings — not a national rate.
[66]Traditional vs physician providers
One Turkish series found 85% complications with traditional providers vs 2.6% with physicians; a Kenyan one 35% vs 17%. Provider setting dominates outcomes — the pattern behind warnings about informal practitioners everywhere.
[66]American Academy of Pediatrics task force
Benefits said to outweigh risks but “not great enough” to recommend routine circumcision — leaving the decision to families. The reference point invoked on both sides of the consent/necessity debate.
[93]Inpatient neonatal circumcisions, 2001–2010
200 early deaths over ten years among 9.83 million inpatient neonatal circumcisions — explicitly correlational, NOT causal. A measured counterpoint to higher litigation-cited estimates.
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