Since December 12 the right to circumcision has been reaffirmed in Germany.
About 80 percent of the world's population do not practice circumcision, nor have they ever done so. Among the non-circumcising nations are Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, the U.S.S.R. , China, and Japan.
Because male circumcision is so common in the states, few Americans realize how rare it is most everywhere else. The practice has fallen by the wayside in Australia, Canada, Britain and New Zealand, and fewer than one-fifth of all male Europeans are circumcised.
It based its decision on Article 2 of the German Constitution that stipulates: “Every person shall have the right to life and physical integrity.” The court's ruling did not mean an outright ban on circumcisions throughout Germany. In fact, male circumcision is not illegal.
Christian Germans (whether devout or nominal) are rarely circumcised.
European countries consider newborn circumcision an unnecessary surgical procedure which increases the costs of operating nationalised health systems, whereas in the US, circumcision is generally considered a simple, rapid operation with medical benefits which accrue throughout life.
Most boys born in Australia around 1950 were circumcised. Since then, there has been a big move away from circumcision. Now less than 20% of Australian boys are circumcised. The only major western country where circumcision is very common is the United States.
Circumcision is not practiced among Italy's Roman Catholic majority. Many immigrants in Italy are Muslim and practice circumcision for cultural and religious reasons, but sometimes have trouble accessing the practice in hospitals. For some, the hospital costs are too high.
In Japan, routine male circumcision has never been implemented for newborns and children, and adult males are mostly circumcised at aesthetic clinics. However, media reports indicate a trend of Japanese mothers willing to have their sons circumcised.
It is thus clear that there is no tradition of circumcision among the British royal family. If Prince Charles and the sons of George V were circumcised, it was not because Victoria believed herself descended from King David, and certainly not because a family circumcision tradition was introduced by George I.
The prevalence of circumcision varies widely in western countries led by the USA (71 per cent), New Zealand (33 per cent), Australia (27 per cent), the UK (21 per cent), France (14 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), Sweden (5 per cent), Italy (3 per cent) and Ireland (1 per cent).
Circumcision rates around the world
Circumcision is also standard in the United States and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, but is rare in Europe, Latin America, and most of Asia.
The ruling by the district court of Cologne says circumcision "for the purpose of religious upbringing constitutes a violation of physical integrity". The judgement added: "The child's body is permanently and irreparably changed by the circumcision.
MC is not commonly practiced by the Chinese. While the prevalence of MC worldwide is almost 30%, only 5% of Chinese males are circumcised [12].
Thailand has some experience with circumcision as Muslim boys are circumcised in a pre-adolescent religious ritual. In addition, for-profit hospitals that cater to a foreign and wealthy clientele provide NMC [17]. However, the majority (~ 90%) Buddhist population does not practice either MC or child circumcision.
Present. Rates vary widely, from over 90% in Israel and many Muslim-majority countries, 86.3% in South Korea, to 80% in the United States, to 58% in Australia, to 45% in South Africa, to 20.7% in the United Kingdom, to under 1% in Japan and Honduras.
Although circumcision in South Korea is not of a religious nature and has been strongly influenced by Americans, it has never been predominantly neonatal. The circumcision age has continued to decrease, and boys are now circumcised at around age 12.
Cost of a Circumcision
The price for a circumcision procedure starts from $450 'out of pocket' with Medicare. Your Medicare rebate can be obtained via your myGov account. If your baby does not have a Medicare card, a circumcision starts at $668.
Conclusion: The highest-quality studies suggest that medical male circumcision has no adverse effect on sexual function, sensitivity, sexual sensation, or satisfaction.
FACT: No medical organization in the world recommends routine infant circumcision. Circumcision is neither necessary nor guaranteed to prevent any disease. A person's behavior is always going to be more important in preventing disease than whether or not he has a foreskin.
But when it comes to the ritual circumcision of boys, the government has once again refused to entertain a ban. PM Mette Frederiksen explained that Denmark made a pledge to its Jewish community after WWII to be fully inclusive of them, and that banning the ritual circumcision of boys would break that promise.
In most of Asia, Europe, Central America, and South America, circumcision is less common, with prevalence rates below 20%.
In Denmark (~5% circumcised), we examined associations of male circumcision with a range of sexual measures in both sexes.