What are the Medical Benefits of a Brit Milah (Bris)?
In 2007, the World Health Organization announced that "based on the evidence presented, which was considered to be compelling, experts recommended that male circumcision now be recognized as an additional important intervention to reduce HIV infection in males... circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection by approximately 60%."Additionally, in 2009, studies led by scientists from Johns Hopkins University and published in the New England Journal of Medicine call for an increase in circumcision, as "male circumcision reduces the risk of several sexually transmitted infections in both sexes."
Furthermore, a study published in the Journal of Andrological Science records that "in Israel, where almost all males are circumcised, the rate of penile cancer is extremely low: 0.1 per 100,000," as opposed to as high as 10.5 in places where circumcision is not routinely practiced.
A decreased rate of urinary tract infections and an increased degree of hygiene are benefits of circumcision. Particularly when performed in infancy and at the hands of an expert Mohel, circumcision can be likened to a vaccine where the momentary pain is outweighed by the tremendous gain.
These medical benefits are certainly reason enough to circumcise, but even if the scientific and medical community one day were to suddenly decide otherwise, we Jews would certainly not stop a 4,000 year old tradition.
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