Huffington Magazine Issue 12-13 | Page 6

Enter SHUTTERSTOCK 1 NEW CIRCUMCISION GUIDELINES RELEASED POINTERS HUFFINGTON 09.09.12 For the first time since 1999, the leading U.S. pediatric group has revised its circumcision guidelines—posing an obstacle for anti-circumcision advocates. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ new policy statement shows a shift toward favoring the procedure, describing the benefits as “sufficient to justify access to this procedure for families choosing it.” The previous guidelines stopped short of recommending routine circumcision despite its “potential” medical benefits. Circumcision rates in the U.S., meanwhile, peaked around 80 percent in the 1970s and 1980s and dropped to just to 55 percent in 2010.