In the 1950s, the rate of circumcision in Australia was about 80 per cent. The ratio of cut to uncut has since reversed: It’s estimated about 20 per cent of newborn boys are now circumcised.
What happened? What’s behind the falling rates of circumcision, and is there any good medical reason to have a hoodie or a helmet?
Although rates are falling in Australia, there are still thousands of newborns being circumcised every year. Meanwhile, Iceland has considered banning the procedure on the grounds it disregards a boy’s right to self-determination.
The proposal won support from around one-third of Iceland’s doctors, and rattled the Jewish and Muslim communities, which practice ritual circumcision.
In the UK, some healthcare experts have called for a national ban on male circumcision to match the existing one on female genital mutilation. Earlier this year, a mother sued a doctor over her son’s circumcision, which she says was performed without her consent.
In the US, a mother is suing a clinic for removing more than the foreskin.
“The numbers have really fallen over the past couple of decades,” Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president-elect Dr Harry Nespolon told Hack.
