Circumcision and law
Laws restricting, regulating, or banning circumcision, some dating back to ancient times, have been enacted in many countries and communities. In modern states, circumcision is generally presumed to be legal, but laws about assault or child custody have been applied in cases involving circumcision. In the case of non-therapeutic circumcision of children, proponents of laws in favor of the procedure often point to the rights of the parents or practitioners, namely the right of freedom of religion. Those against the procedure point to the boy's right of freedom from religion. In several court cases, judges have pointed to the irreversible nature of the act, the grievous harm to the boy's body,[2] and the right to self-determination and bodily integrity.
History
Judaism
There are ancient religious requirements for circumcision. The Hebrew Bible commands Jews to circumcise their male children on the eighth day of life, and to circumcise their male slaves.
Laws which ban circumcision are also ancient. The ancient Greeks prized the foreskin and disapproved of the Jewish custom of circumcision. 1 Maccabees, 1:60–61 states that King Antiochus IV of Syria, the occupying power of Judea in 170 BCE, outlawed circumcision on penalty of death, one of the grievances leading to the Maccabean Revolt.
According to the Historia Augusta, the Roman emperor Hadrian issued a decree which banned circumcision in the empire, and some modern scholars argue that this was a main cause of the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt of 132 CE. The Roman historian Cassius Dio, however, made no mention of such a law, instead, he blamed the Jewish uprising on Hadrian's decision to rebuild Jerusalem and rename it Aelia Capitolina, a city dedicated to Jupiter.
Antoninus Pius permitted Jews to circumcise their own sons. However, he forbade the circumcision of non-Jewish males who were either foreign-born slaves of Jews and the circumcision of non-Jewish males who were members of Jewish households, in violation of Genesis 17:12. He also banned non-Jewish men from converting to Judaism. Antoninus Pius exempted the Egyptian priesthood from the otherwise universal ban on circumcision.
Constantine the Great made it illegal to circumcise Christian slaves, and punished the owners who allowed it by freeing the Christian from slavery.
Ecclesiastical canon law in Christianity
Circumcision has also played a major role in Christian history and theology. The Council of Jerusalem in the early Christian Church declared that circumcision was not necessary for Christians; covenant theology largely views the Christian sacrament of baptism as fulfilling the Israelite practice of circumcision, both being signs and seals of the covenant of grace. Though mainstream Christian denominations maintain a neutral position on routine circumcision, it is widely practiced in many Christian communities.
Historically, the Lutheran Churches have also not practiced circumcision among their communicants. Currently, the Catholic Church maintains a neutral position on the practice of non-religious circumcision. Today, many Christian denominations are neutral about ritual male circumcision, not requiring it for religious observance, but neither forbidding it for cultural or other reasons.
On the other hand, in Oriental Christianity, the Coptic Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and Eritrean Orthodox Church require that their male members undergo circumcision.
Soviet Union
Before glasnost, according to an article in The Jewish Press, Jewish ritual circumcision was forbidden in the Soviet Union. However, David E. Fishman, professor of Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, states that, whereas the heder and yeshiva, the organs of Jewish education, "were banned by virtue of the law separating church and school, and subjected to tough police and administrative actions", circumcision was not proscribed by law or suppressed by executive measures. Jehoshua A. Gilboa writes that while circumcision was not officially or explicitly banned, pressure was exerted to make it difficult. Mohels, in particular, were concerned that they could be punished for any health issue that might develop, even if it arose some time after the circumcision.
Albania
In 1967, all religion in Communist Albania was banned, along with the practice of circumcision. The practice was driven underground and many boys were secretly circumcised.
International law
Council of Europe
On 1 October 2013, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a non-binding resolution in which they state they are "apprehensive about a category of violation of the physical integrity of children". It included in this category "circumcision of young boys for religious reasons". On 7 October, Israel's president Shimon Peres wrote a personal missive to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, to stop the "ban", arguing: "The Jewish communities across Europe would be greatly afflicted to see their cultural and religious freedom impeded upon by the Council of Europe, an institution devoted to the protection of these very rights." Two days later, Jagland clarified that the resolution was non-binding and that "Nothing in the body of our legally binding standards would lead us to put on equal footing the issue of female genital mutilation and the circumcision of young boys for religious reasons."
European Union
A study commissioned by the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs published in February 2013 stated that "Male circumcision for non-therapeutic reasons appears to be practiced with relative regularity and frequency throughout Europe" and said it was "the only scenario among the topics discussed in the present chapter, in which the outcome of the balancing between the right to physical integrity and religious freedom is in favor of the latter." The study recommended that "the best interests of children should be paramount while acknowledging the relevance of this practice for Muslims and Jews. Member States should ensure that circumcision of underage children is performed according to the medical profession's art and under conditions that do not put the health of minors at risk. The introduction of regulations by the Member States in order to set the conditions and the appropriate medical training for those called to perform it is warranted."
2013 Nordic ombudsmen statement
On 30 September 2013, the children's ombudsmen of all five Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden – together with the children's spokesperson from Greenland and representatives of associations of Nordic paediatricians and paediatric surgeons, gathered in Oslo to discuss the issue, and released a joint declaration proposing a ban on non-therapeutic circumcision of male minors:
- Let boys decide for themselves whether or not they want to be circumcised
Circumcision without a medical indication on a person unable to provide informed consent conflicts with basic principles of medical ethics, mainly because the operation is irreversible, painful and may cause serious complications. There are no health-related reasons to circumcise young boys in the Nordic countries. Arguments that may argue in favor of circumcision in adult men are of little relevance to children in the Nordic area. Boys can make up their own minds about the operation when they get old enough to provide informed consent.
As ombudsmen for children and experts in children's health, we consider circumcision of underage boys without a medical indication to be in conflict with the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, article 12, about children's right to express their views about their own matters, and article 24, pt. 3, which says that children must be protected against traditional rituals that may be harmful to their health.
In 2013, the UN Human Rights Council has urged all states to end operations that compromise the integrity and dignity of children and are prejudicial to the health of both girls and boys. We consider it central that parental rights in this matter do not have precedence over children's right to bodily integrity. What is in children's best interest must always come first, even if this may limit an adult's right to carry out religious or traditional rituals.
The Nordic ombudsmen for children and experts in children's health, therefore, want to work towards a situation where a circumcision can only be performed if a boy, who has reached the age and level of maturity required to understand necessary medical information, consents to the operation. We wish a respectful dialogue among all parties involved about how to best ensure boys' self-determination with respect to circumcision. We also urge our governments to inform about children's rights and health-related risks and consequences of the operation. We ask the Nordic governments to take the necessary steps towards ensuring that boys get the right to decide for themselves whether or not they want to be circumcised.
— 'Signed by Anne Lindboe, Norwegian ombudswoman for children; Fredrik Malmberg, Swedish ombudsman for children; Maria Kaisa Aula, Finnish ombudswoman for children; Per Larsen, Chairman of the Danish Children's Council; Margrét Maria Sigurdardóttir, Icelandic ombudswoman for children; Anja Chemnitz Larsen, Greenlandic Children's spokesperson, as well as by representatives of Nordic associations of pediatricians and pediatric surgeons.'
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Circumcision_and_law ]
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