The German cabinet approved a bill on
Wednesday to make circumcision legal, marking a major step towards ending the
controversy of a Cologne court banning the practice.
The bill will bring clarity to the sensitive subject of religious
circumcision, just months after a court ruling threw the legality of the
practice into question. The debate over circumcision arose in June when
Cologne’s regional court ruled that the ritual “deprives a child of the right
to self-determination and violates his physical integrity.”
This stance was reached after a four-year-old boy was submitted to
hospital with heavy bleeding after undergoing the procedure. However, the new
law will make the practice legal on religious grounds, with set conditions. Only
a qualified doctor or religious figures "specially trained for the
task" would be able to perform the operation. The practice could also only
be undertaken with a parent’s consent.
This law still has to clear parliament and ultimately be signed by
President Joachim Gauck before coming into effect. Jewish and Muslim groups
originally joined together in opposition to the Cologne ruling, and are now
backing the new bill. The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany,
Dieter Graumann, called it "very successful and desired".
The chairman of the Central Council of Muslims, Aiman Mazyek called the
bill "exceedingly astute, balanced and fair". However, the children's
charity Deutsche Kinderhilfe have criticised the decision, calling it a step
back in protecting the rights of children. The chairman of the charity, Georg
Ehrmann said: “While a smack is forbidden, now an irreversible procedure with
the risk of considerable side-effects and pain should be allowed for almost any
reason. Such a decree in German law would enduringly weaken children's
rights." Despite some opposition to this controversial bill, the law is
likely to meet with overriding approval from lawmakers.
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