(JTA) — Male circumcision should be recommended to parents of newborn boys because of its benefits, according to a draft of federal guidelines.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the recommendations released Tuesday, found that circumcision lowers the risk of getting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as other health issues.
“These recommendations are intended to assist health care providers in the United States who are counseling men and parents of male infants, children and adolescents in decision making about male circumcision,” the CDC said in its draft recommendations.
The recommendations also said, “Such decision making is made in the context of not only health considerations, but also other social, cultural, ethical, and religious factors.”
The CDC based its recommendation on clinical trials conducted between 2005 and 2010, though it said that the data have been accumulating about infant male circumcision for many years.
From 1979 through 2010, the national rate of newborn circumcision declined 10 percent to 58 percent, Reuters reported, citing the CDC.
A 45-day comment period on the draft ends on Jan. 16.
The governments of Sweden, Norway and Denmark are debating circumcision bans.
