Respondents revealed wide-ranging unhealthy outcomes attributed to newborn circumcision.

SAN ANSELMO, Calif., March 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new survey of men circumcised at birth documents wide-ranging adverse adult outcomes and reveals considerable dissatisfaction and resentment about the genital modification.

Most respondents were from the United States and were circumcised by physicians. Others were from Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, Israel, and South Africa. According to Genital Autonomy America, the World Health Organization estimates over two-thirds of the world's men are genitally intact (not circumcised).

Documented adverse outcomes include:

• meatal stenosis (narrowing of the urinary opening)
  
• scarring
  
• penile head keratinization
  
• painful erections
  
• skin bridges
  
• sensory deprivation
  
• premature or delayed ejaculation
  
• erectile dysfunction
  
• feelings of mutilation
  
• negative self-esteem
  
• medical mistrust
  
• and parental or religious alienation.
  

Many survey respondents, however, assert the medically unnecessary and irreversible genital surgery violated their right to bodily integrity, declaring such an intensely personal decision should be left to the individual who must live with the consequences when old enough to understand the risks and provide his consent.

ABSTRACT

Amid growing bioethical and human rights concerns over non-therapeutic infant male circumcision, calls have been made to investigate long-term impacts on the men these infants eventually become. The present inquiry attempts to identify factors contributing to concerns of men claiming dissatisfaction with or ascribing harm from neonatal circumcision. This large sample size survey involved an online questionnaire with opportunities to upload photographic evidence. Respondents revealed wide-ranging unhealthy outcomes attributed to newborn circumcision. Survey results establish the existence of a considerable subset of circumcised men adversely affected by their circumcisions that warrants further controlled study. Empirical investigations alone, however, may be insufficient to definitively identify long-term effects of infant circumcision. As with non-therapeutic genital modifications of non-consenting female and intersex minors, responses are highly individualistic and cannot be predicted at the time they are imposed on children. Findings highlight important health and human rights implications resulting from infringements on the bodily integrity and future autonomy rights of boys, which may aid health care and human rights professionals in understanding this emerging vanguard of men who report suffering from circumcision. We recommend further research avenues, offer solutions to assist affected men, and suggest responses to reduce the future incidence of this problem.