Circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin, the sheath of tissue that surrounds, lubricates, and protects the head of the penis. Infant circumcision was not widespread until the beginning of the century in the United States when it was promoted as a medical procedure with an odd variety of purposes: to discourage masturbation, to enhance cleanliness, and to prevent disease. Most of these so-called medical procedures for circumcision have proven to be propaganda; but researchers that dismissed the idea that circumcision can reduce the spread of HIV may be about to change their minds.

For more than ten years, AIDS researchers studying the disastrous spread of HIV throughout Africa have been gathering evidence suggesting that the epidem

high level of sexually transmitted disease, but a low rate of HIV. In Nigeria, they circumcise." In Asia, a similar trend is developing. Thailand and the Philippines are both nations with a thriving commercial sex industry; yet the HIV rate in Thailand is nearly 40 times the percent rate in the Philippines. In the Philippines, most men are circumcised; in Thailand, most men are uncircumcised.

The one issue that opponents and advocates agree on in regards to circumcision as a preventative measure against HIV, is the fear that circumcision will be viewed as too safe and so protective that safe sex practices will be lost. Circumcision alone is not the answer to eliminate the risk of HIV infection, because it only reduces the risk of infection. HIV still appears at undesirably high rates in cities where circumcision is widely practiced. Commercial sex, promiscuity, alcohol abuse, lack of condom use, and poor hygiene may all play a role in HIV’s spread. These conditions combined may explain the inconsistent high levels of HIV among non-circumcising cultures. The necessity to prevent the spread of HIV is crucial and needs to be addressed and decided upon quickly. As Jane Chagre, a Population Council researcher, puts it, “This is a big issue. It is not something you can just ignore. Even a 5 percent difference in HIV rates is significant, because we are talking about a killer.”

There are also biological reasons that suggest the foreskin is especially vulnerable to HIV. Researchers suspect that the fragility of the foreskin tissue is one of the main entrances for HIV. The foreskin can tear and bleed during sex, providing a pathway for bacteria into the bloodstream. Circumcision advocates have argued that the procedure reduces susceptibility to a variety of sexually transmitted diseases, particularly those that form soft sores, such as syphilis. There is ample evidence that a man who has a history of STDs, particularly ulcerative forms, runs a higher risk of HIV in

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