Circumcision Not Recommended
There has been heated argument among researchers regarding circumcision’s role in stopping the HIV/AIDS epidemic.1 Everyone agrees that it does not protect everyone all the time. It has only been purported to be 60% effective in protecting men from acquiring HIV following intercourse with infected women.2 It does not protect women, nor does it protect men having sex with men. Even if a man is circumcised, he must still wear a condom. Condoms are 98% effective and 95 times more cost-effective than circumcision,3 without the risks and lifelong consequences of surgery. Being circumcised and wearing a condom offers little, if any, more protection than wearing a condom alone.
- Dowsett GW, Couch M. Male circumcision and HIV prevention: Is there really enough of the right kind of evidence? Reprod Health Matters. 2007;15(29):33–44. ↩
- Bailey RC, Moses S , Parker CB, Agot K, Maclean I, Krieger JN, et al. Male circumcision for HIV prevention in young men in Kisumu, Kenya: A randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2007;369(9562):643-56. ↩
- McAllister RG, Travis JW, Bollinger D, Rutiser C, Sundar V. The cost to circumcise Africa. Int J Men’s Health. 2008;7(3):218-321. ↩
Last modified: 05/04/11
