Thursday, July 12, 2012

But ... Why?

A German court has declared circumcision illegal.
Cologne's regional court ruled on June 26 that doctors in Germany who circumcise a boy for religious reasons could be accused of committing bodily injury, even in cases where parents have given their express consent.
I guess religious orthodoxy is the sole province of the State.

9 comments:

John Travolta said...

I have a question.

In my religion, as a sign of the covenant we hold with our god, it is required that parents cut off the first knuckle of the left index finger of every child born into the religion.

When the religious persecutors start screaming, "child abuse" or some other such nonsense, can I count on you to stand up for my religious liberty?

Jedi Master Ivyan said...

If you really want to have fun, post something about circumcision on yahoo answers. You'll find all kinds of anti-circ vitriol and foaming at the mouth. They tried to outlaw it in San Francisco not too long ago, I believe.

K T Cat said...

John, your analogy fails instantly. Knuckles != flap of foreskin.

Second, what's the religion you're talking about? If you can't use a real example, it's kind of useless, isn't it?

John Travolta said...

Actually, I think it's a perfectly good analogy. In both situations, you're mutilating an infant for religious reasons.

But you really don't have to look far for another example. Let's say I'm a fundamentalist Muslim, and am convinced Allah wants me to cut off my daughter's clitoris with a razor blade. Can I still count on you to stand up for my religious liberty in this case?

Jedi Master Ivyan said...

John, the female genital mutilation argument exposes your ignorance of anatomy. A female so harmed is not going to have full sexual function and is likely to have reproductive complications. A circumcised male still has full function and no reproductive issues. Circumcision offers health benefits which can be found at the link above.

John Travolta said...

Hi Jedi. I've two comments:

1. KT Cat brought up this subject as one of religious persecution, not health and wellness, so let's just recognize that there are two distinct threads of discussion going on here.

2. If male circumcision offers notable health benefits without impeding reproductive function in any way, why not simply wait until men are of age to make that medical decision for themselves? Why the rush to snip them as soon as they're out of the womb?

Jedi Master Ivyan said...

No, I'm not discussing further until you address and justify your female genital mutilation comparison.

Then, you can go to the link I posted and educate yourself on why it might be better to circumcise at a young age.

K T Cat said...

So as I understand it, you've got a problem with circumcision for some reason. You keep wanting to compare it to things that are clearly unequal. You can't answer the original question - Why outlaw it?

John Travolta said...

I have no interest in outlawing circumcision. If you want to have your foreskin removed, far be it from me to tell you that you can't.

What I don't understand is why it's so important that the procedure be performed on little baby boys who have no say in the matter. If there are such profound benefits to be gained by having the procedure done, why not just wait until the boy is of age to make the decision himself, and let him elect to have it done then?