Doctors have been searching for a medical justification for cutting off a normal, healthy part of a boy's penis since the late 1880s. The first medical justification doctors used was the idea that circumcision helps prevent a boy from masturbating. Medical doctors at that time thought that masturbation caused epilepsy and other medical problems.
"Infant male circumcision was once considered a preventive health measure and was therefore adopted extensively in Western countries. Current understanding of the benefits, risks and potential harm of this procedure, however, no longer supports this practice for prophylactic health benefit. Routine infant male circumcision performed on a healthy infant is now considered a non-therapeutic and medically unnecessary intervention." - College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Infant Male Circumcision. Jun 2004.