For many decades of the twentieth century, American physicians both recommended and presumed consent for routine infant circumcision. In 2009 the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy position to state that circumcision was strictly a cultural and/or religious consideration with no medical consideration (pdf). In 2012 the American Acadrmy of Pediatrics amended its position to offer two justifications for circumcision—reduced risk of UTIs in infancy and reduced risk of STIs in adulthood (pdf). However, the AAP qualified the amended policy that its data only established a statistical benefit greater than the statistical risk. Infant circumcision was therefore categorized as an acceptable medical procedure only; the data did not establish infant circumcision as a necessary medical procedure.Show more ›