German court rules religious circumcision on boys an assault

[Zanza]

German court rules religious circumcision on boys an assault
(AFP) – 12 hours ago 
BERLIN — Circumcising young boys on religious grounds amounts to grievous bodily harm, a German court ruled Tuesday in a landmark decision that the Jewish community said trampled on parents' religious rights.

The regional court in Cologne, western Germany, ruled that the "fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents", a judgement that is expected to set a legal precedent.

"The religious freedom of the parents and their right to educate their child would not be unacceptably compromised, if they were obliged to wait until the child could himself decide to be circumcised," the court added.

The case was brought against a doctor in Cologne who had circumcised a four-year-old Muslim boy on his parents' wishes.

A few days after the operation, his parents took him to hospital as he was bleeding heavily. Prosecutors then charged the doctor with grievous bodily harm.

The doctor was acquitted by a lower court that judged he had acted within the law as the parents had given their consent.

On appeal, the regional court also acquitted the doctor but for different reasons.

The regional court upheld the original charge of grievous bodily harm but also ruled that the doctor was innocent as there was too much confusion on the legal situation around circumcision.

The court came down firmly against parents' right to have the ritual performed on young children.

"The body of the child is irreparably and permanently changed by a circumcision," the court said. "This change contravenes the interests of the child to decide later on his religious beliefs."

The decision caused outrage in Germany's Jewish community.

The head of the Central Committee of Jews, Dieter Graumann, said the ruling was "an unprecedented and dramatic intervention in the right of religious communities to self-determination."

The judgement was an "outrageous and insensitive act. Circumcision of newborn boys is a fixed part of the Jewish religion and has been practiced worldwide for centuries," added Graumann.

"This religious right is respected in every country in the world."

Holm Putzke, a criminal law expert at the University of Passau, told the Financial Times Deutschland that the ruling was "enormously important for doctors because for the first time they have legal certainty."

"Unlike many politicians, the court has not allowed itself to be scared off by charges of anti-Semitism or religious intolerance," added Putzke.

The World Health Organisation has estimated that nearly one in three males under 15 is circumcised. In the United States, the operation is often performed for hygiene reasons on infants.

Thousands of young boys are circumcised every year in Germany, especially in the country's large Jewish and Muslim communities.

The court specified that circumcision was not illegal if carried out for medical reasons.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5idCDYo0Sg4r7FMY9ueBfajLynaiQ?docId=CNG.57c3c5b01b5794db35e63f156f63c566.271

Good decision. We are a secular state and should not condone bodily harm inflicted by parents on their children.

[Barrister]

[jimmy olsen]

Ridiculous.

[Tonitrus]

Why stop at bodily harm...why not worry about every childhood religious activity causing emotional harm as well.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

good. a decision in favour of religious freedom and against unnecessary medical procedures.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Hmmm...............now where did I put that popcorn?

[Tonitrus]

One could argue that fixing a cleft lip soon after birth is unnecessary as well, and merely conforming to our civilizations narrow concept of beauty and/or normalcy.

[Tamas]

Will they ban baptism of babies next, or they will stop at anti-semitism?

[Tonitrus]

Interesting also that the article focuses on Jewish outrage, when the case stemmed from a Muslim child.  Where is the infamous Muslim outrage when it is needed most?

[Martinus]

I have always been saying that. Good to see European authorities are finally starting to refuse to bow to religious idiots.

[Richard Hakluyt]

One could argue that fixing a cleft lip soon after birth is unnecessary as well, and merely conforming to our civilizations narrow concept of beauty and/or normalcy.

One could also argue that female genital mutilation is unnecessary as well, and merely conforming to our civilizations narrow concept of beauty and/or normalcy.

[HVC]

One could argue that fixing a cleft lip soon after birth is unnecessary as well, and merely conforming to our civilizations narrow concept of beauty and/or normalcy.

that's a bit different in that a cleft palate isn't just an aesthetic thing, there are real dangers involved. A circumcision isn't all that different from female genital mutilation (well, a variation there of where the clitoral hood and or lips are excised, not the clitorictomy version). But really, i don't think I care enough to have an opinion either way. I wouldn't have any future son circumcised and I kind of wish doctors wouldn't recommend it for non-religious reasons as there's no proof it actually is medically beneficial as studies keep going either way on the STD (namely AIDS) protection. Plus, you know, condoms work better anyway lol

[HVC]

Will they ban baptism of babies next, or they will stop at anti-semitism?

muslims do it too. so you're cool with banning it now, right?

[Tamas]

Will they ban baptism of babies next, or they will stop at anti-semitism?

muslims do it too. so you're cool with banning it now, right?

I would be fine with it, if it was part of banning parents from forcing a religion down a child's throat. But it isn't, and therefore I consider it a half-assed measure concentrating on the non-german way of going about religions.

[Tonitrus]

One could argue that fixing a cleft lip soon after birth is unnecessary as well, and merely conforming to our civilizations narrow concept of beauty and/or normalcy.

One could also argue that female genital mutilation is unnecessary as well, and merely conforming to our civilizations narrow concept of beauty and/or normalcy.

Hmm, I will now have to find a bigger strawman to bring to this duel.