Editor,
Adam Pham did very little real research to come to his decision that male circumcision has no real value in the 21st century. As a nurse, I know there are many reasons, both medical and social, to have this surgery.
Men who are circumcised rarely get penal cancer, and female partners who have sex with circumcised males have less chance of contracting cervical cancer.
Sexually transmitted diseases are more frequent in uncircumcised males. Infections in both the men and their partners come from hygiene issues.
Pham claimed that adults who are circumcised later in life report a loss of sexual pleasure. That is completely false.
In fact, it is just the opposite, as most men report there is either no difference or sexual pleasure is greater after surgery.
Socially, families want their little boys to look like their fathers. Boys who grow up uncircumcised are more self-conscious when they look different from their peers.
This is a procedure that most American families still choose for valid reasons.
Lydia Kingston
Wichita