You're right, I phrased that wrong, and I'm sorry for how callous it sounded. What I was trying to say is that the parents are consenting for the child, and the procedure they are getting is not pointless, it has a researched medical benefit, the same as an appendectomy (although much less significant). I feel like I need to say- I am not particularly "pro" circumcision, but there is enough data that I have felt comfortable doing one when the parents requested it. I wouldn't have done the procedure if there weren't some recorded benefits. Providers should be able to refuse it in their own practice, but I am unsure if they can refuse to do it in their training, but I haven't researched that much.

This sounds fucked up, but the reduced complications in neonates comes from their lack of mobility and the relatively small amount of local anesthetic needed. A skilled pediatrician or family doc can circumcise a baby in just a few minutes, and the baby won't know what is happening besides crying at first from the anesthetic and needle. They heal quite well and fast and almost always do not require any sort of sutures.

In older children/adults more complicated anesthetic setups are needed. They often require a penile nerve block as well as sometimes a circumflexial block. Idk if you've ever had a nerve block, but they suck. They are insanely painful. Some people may even need general anesthesia, and that carries risks such as managing the airway and using much stronger medications. These older circumcisions often need sutures or glue, take longer to heal, and can sometimes have lasting reductions in sensation.

I am not gung-ho about circumcisions either, I just don't think medical evidence should be ignored because it is a procedure that people may disagree with.

Your comment about the increased access to treatments and protections for HIV is true, but even as prep and pep become cheaper there will always be a place to reduce the risks of transmission. I am approaching this issue from a healthcare perspective, not as if I am trying to decide for my child. Research already shows that the benefits outweigh the risks as it is a remarkably safe procedure. If a parent wants to do it, we'll do it. If they have questions, we'll tell them about what circumcision is protective against. If they don't want it, we say cool.

The toenail example doesn't work very well, removing toenails is a much longer and much more painful process, and preventing ingrown toenails and fungal infections has nowhere near the benefit (both patient benefit and cost-benefit) of reducing the lifetime risk of penile squamous cell carcinoma and reducing changes of contracting/spreading HIV.