Now a German Court has ruled that a circumcision is a crime when done to a minor without medical indication.
From a BBC article:
- German court rules circumcision is 'bodily harm'
In a decision that has caused outrage among Jewish and Muslim groups, the court said that a child's right to physical integrity trumps religious and parental rights.
The case involved a doctor who carried out a circumcision on a four year-old that led to medical complications.
Thousands of Muslim and Jewish boys are circumcised in Germany every year.
Although male circumcision - unlike female circumcision - is not illegal in Germany, the court's judgement said the "fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents".
Circumcision, it decided, contravenes "interests of the child to decide later in life on his religious beliefs".
'Protect religious freedom'
The doctor involved in the case was acquitted and the ruling is not binding, but correspondents say it sets a precedent that would be taken into account by other German courts.
The president of Germany's Central Council of Jews, Dieter Graumann, called it "an unprecedented and dramatic intervention in the right of religious communities to self-determination".
He urged the country's parliament to clarify the legal situation "to protect religious freedom against attacks".
Male circumcision is part of the ancient religious rituals of both the Jewish and Muslim faiths, as well as the traditions of some tribal groups.
In some countries, such as the United States, it is also not uncommon for parents to request that young boys are circumcised for health reasons.
The BBC's Stephen Evans in Germany says it is unclear what the next legal step will be, but this issue is a moral and political minefield.
What are your thoughts?
Is a circumcision, done to a minor without medical indication, a crime?
Here are the relevant sections from the German Criminal Code [...]
- Section 223 - Causing bodily harm
- Whosoever physically assaults or damages the health of another person, shall be liable to imprisonment of not more than five years or a fine.
- The attempt shall be punishable.
- Section 224 - Causing bodily harm by dangerous means
- Whosoever causes bodily harm
- 1. by administering poison or other noxious substances;
2. by using a weapon or other dangerous instrument;
3. by acting by stealth;
4. by acting jointly with another; or
5. by methods that pose a danger to life,
- 1. by administering poison or other noxious substances;
- The attempt shall be punishable.
- Section 225 - Abuse of position of trust
- Whosoever tortures or seriously abuses or by maliciously neglecting his duty of care for a person damages the health of a person under eighteen years of age or a person who is defenceless due to frailty or illness and who
- 1. is in his care or custody;
2. belongs to his household;
3. has been placed under his control by the person obliged to provide care; or
4. is subordinated to him within a relationship of employment,
- 1. is in his care or custody;
- The attempt shall be punishable.
- The penalty shall be imprisonment of not less than one year if the offender places the person in danger of
- 1. death or serious injury; or
2. a substantial impairment of his physical or mental development.
- 1. death or serious injury; or
- In less serious cases under subsection 1 above the penalty shall be imprisonment from three months to five years, in less serious cases under subsection 3 above imprisonment from six months to five years.
- Section 226 - Causing grievous bodily harm
- If the injury results in the victim
- 1. losing his sight in one eye or in both eyes, his hearing, his speech or his ability to procreate;
2. losing or losing permanently the ability to use an important member;
3. being permanently and seriously disfigured or contracting a lingering illness, becoming paralysed, mentally ill or disabled,
- 1. losing his sight in one eye or in both eyes, his hearing, his speech or his ability to procreate;
- If the offender intentionally or knowingly causes one of the results indicated in subsection 1 above the penalty shall be imprisonment of not less than three years.
- In less serious cases under subsection 1 above the penalty shall be imprisonment from six months to five years, in less serious cases under subsection 2 above imprisonment from one to ten years.
- Article 1 - Human dignity
- Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.
- The German people therefore acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world.
- The following basic rights shall bind the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary as directly applicable law.
- Article 2 - Personal freedoms
- Every person shall have the right to free development of his personality insofar as he does not violate the rights of others or offend against the constitutional order or the moral law.
- Every person shall have the right to life and physical integrity. Freedom of the person shall be inviolable. These rights may be interfered with only pursuant to a law.
- Article 4 - Freedom of faith, conscience, and creed
- Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable.
- The undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed.
- No person shall be compelled against his conscience to render military service involving the use of arms. Details shall be regulated by a federal law.
Are the rights to physical integrity and religious freedom from the minor protected?