CDC Supports Male Circumcision

U.S. health officials are poised to endorse circumcision as a means of preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday released its first-ever draft guidelines on circumcision that recommend that doctors counsel parents and uncircumcised males on the health benefits of the procedure. The guidelines do not outright call for circumcision of all male newborns, since that is a personal decision that may involve religious or cultural preferences, Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, told the Associated Press. But “the scientific evidence is clear that the benefits outweigh the risks,” Mermin said/WebMD. More here.