Circumcision bans have been proposed here in the U.S., but so far policy surrounding circumcision haven’t been mandated. In Germany however, things are now a little different. Recently, a German court in Cologne ruled that circumcision of baby boys should be considered unlawful, noting that the “fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents.” Religious leaders are outraged of course, as are parents who support circumcision along with the right to make decisions for their baby. The court however is firm in their belief that circumcision at a very young age changes a baby or child’s body significantly, “irreparably and permanently” thus is not a decision anyone but the individual themselves should be making and the court notes that forced circumcision goes against that “child’s rights to choose his religious beliefs.”
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Image by Flickr User Pink Sherbet Photography
Jewish leaders in particular, are furious about the new circumcision decision. Dieter Graumann, the central council’s president called the outlawing of circumcision “outrageous and insensitive,” and the New York Times reports that Graumann says of circumcision, “In every country in the world this religious right is respected.” This case came about after a four-year-old Muslim boy in Cologne suffered heavy bleeding a few days after a doctor had performed a circumcision. The doctor was charged with grievous bodily harm, but was acquitted both because he did have parental consent and cited religious freedom to perform such an operation. Up until now, male circumcision has been allowed in Germany, although there are standing laws protecting females in Germany from genital cutting. The New York Times points out that the decision won’t be enforceable in jurisdictions other than Cologne, but in reality, legal uncertainty and possible prosecution may lead doctors to decline performing circumcisions on baby boys.
+ Weighing the Pros and Cons of Circumcision
Lead Image by Flickr User miss pupik
There are vast lifelong benefits to having a foreskin if it is not injured, forced retraction is the only risk and is completely avoidable. This is a functioning purposful body part and the courts are right, religious freedom ends with one’s own body, our children’s bodies are their own, It is not our right to risk our child’s life and future health and sexual function to force a religion on them they have not chosen and in addition to that many many people misinterpret their religion’s “requirement” of circumcision. Muslim male cutting is mostly cultural and there are various versions of their religious texts some that exclude circumcision all together, there are also a growing number of educated Jewish people who can explain on their websites better than I can that circumcision is not law and actually violates Jewish law. Finally Christian’s are clearly forbidden from circumcision as it is a direct denial of Christ’s sacrifice to do so, however many devout Christian’s site the old testament as an excuse to inflict this on their child. Make no mistake, I am not above mistakes, I did this ignorantly to one son, but I educated myself and protected my future sons. We are too advanced to remain so barbarically ignorant when our children’s lives hang in the balance. Afterall more infant boys die in the neonatal period from circumcision that infants of both genders die in the neonatal period from car accidents, suffocation, and SIDS combined and that’s only the ones reported as many circumcision deaths are officialy recorded by the secondary complication such as hemmorhage, infection, dismemberment, cardiac arrest, and shock. There is no sense taking such a greivous risk for something unnecessary, and now proven harmful in the short and long term.
Rather than saying, “Circumcision should be outlawed,” I’d prefer, “Babies should be protected from unnecessary, painful trauma to their healthy genital skin.”