As Mr. Bailis pointed out, the information provided by Dr. Schoen on HIV and STDs is inaccurate. I refer the reader to my review of the matter in the latest issue of the International Journal of Sexually Transmitted Disease and AIDS and in the aforementioned British Journal of Urology supplement. Mr. Bailis fails to understand that a reduction in pain and adequate pain relief cannot be equated. To date, studies of neonatal circumcision have demonstrated the former, but their study design prevents their demonstrating the latter. Most patients prefer no pain to less pain.
Newborns have a lower pain threshold than older infants and children.
Anesthetics have little or no effect on the increases seen in crying at the time of immunization in circumcised boys when compared to normal boys, as circumcision may permanently alter how the brain perceives pain. Mr. Bailis misplaces his confidence in a study of satisfied circumcised adolescent boys, of whom only 65 percent knew they were circumcised. The validity of evaluating penile satisfaction before the onset of sexual activity is quite suspect, much like rating a car without taking it for a test drive. While Dr. Schoen is enamored with the immunization simile, immunization programs have resulted in reductions in targeted diseases without amputating healthy tissue. In contrast, the circumcision experiment in the United States has resulted in an increased rate of STDs, the highest rate of HIV among First World nations, and an increased rate of cervical cancer.