Mutilatiing our children: Circumcision no longer a medical certainty

Fifty years ago, it was almost a certainty that healthy baby boys in the United States would be circumcised at birth. Rates of infant circumcision in 1960 hovered near 90 percent.

In today's era of easily accessible research and data-hungry parents, though, American circumcision rates have dropped significantly to the point that some areas now see fewer than 50 percent of their boys being circumcised.

Still, our national affinity for circumcision stands nearly alone among the developed nations of the world. It's estimated that 80 percent of males in the world are intact. Only North America, Africa and much of the Middle East still perform routine circumcisions on their boys while Europeans, Asians and South American boys are typically allowed and encouraged to remain whole.

Some differences can be attributed to religious or tribal custom. But with relatively few religious requirements or tribal influences today in America, why is circumcision so prevalent?

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