German Court: Circumcision Causes "Bodily Harm"

A doctor in Cologne botched the circumcision of a 4-year old Muslim boy.  When the boy was treated at a local hospital the district court got involved and issued a ruling that has ignited an international firestorm:

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 official reaction of the both the mainstream German and international press has been to condemn the German court for infringing religious freedom.  The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) - the official voice of the American Taliban - speculates that the ruling was rooted in German anti-Semitism. 

While the mainstream press expresses "outrage" the reaction among ordinary readers is decidedly mixed.  I've been reading the reader comments in the Frankfurter Rundschau and about half the readers find the verdict stupid, but there are many comments such as this:

Das Recht auf körperliche Unversehrtheit muß für jeden Menschen gelten,
für wehrlose Kinder insbesondere.

 (The right to preservation of physical integrity must apply to all people, but especailly to innocent children).

Circumcision of boys - while not as serious as female circumcision - is a barbaric practice, rooted in religious superstition.  I commend the court for not giving into religious pressures and standing for the well-being of the child. 

Comments

[koogleschreiber]

I agree. In ancient Egypt circumcision was a method to mark slaves and enemies and newer researches show the Jews took over that practice in the times of Moses, also as a replacement for human sacrifices. The Qu'ran doesn't command circumcision at all, it is disputed wether the Hadiths do or if they only recommend it. An 8 day old male baby will surely not remember the pain when it is older, but for any conscious being it must truely be a traumatic experience if it is used with force.

[Zyme]

Hi David -

I was genuinely surprised by your stance in this case. It appears you value individual rights higher than religious rights close to your affiliation? I would salute that!

Also I was surprised by Michel Friedman's unusually soft tone in his article at Welt.
It appears these kind of practices are losing support.

[David]

Zyme,

I refused to have my sons circumcised even though circumcision is a common practice in the US for "health reasons" - also among non-Jews and non-Muslims.

[Jake]

The Foreskin is an external Part of an Organ and a functional Organ by itself like f.E. Nose & Ear.

No Reason to cut It off, if not for a "real" medical One.

Purely barbaric and Harm & Pain and the mental Dammage are totally underrated.

By the Way, such a Beauty, that for Once, the Abrahamics are sticking up for each Other to keep this Torture Going.

21st Century my fuc**** Arse!

[Zyme]

Haha, Jake I am with you :-)

It is time we dispose of these anachronistic mindsets!

[Harvey Morrell]

Als deutscher Jude, I am distressed by this ruling, although not as much as I am by some of the comments.

[Jake]

By which Comments are you distressed Harvey?
Them, which disagree with the senseless Mutilation of Newborns/Children-male/female. etc. ...

I do not care out of which senseless Reasons functional Bodyparts, of Children or Whoever, are chopped off!

It is absolutely nothin more, than a barbaric Business, ... relidiotly motivated or what so ever!

Example for whatsoever:
"Denn Kellogg war ein fanatischer Masturbationsgegner. Als Arzt notierte er in Schriften, was häufige Selbstbefriediger zu befürchten hätten: Impotenz, Krebs, Bettnässen oder Verrücktheit. Deshalb empfahl er als Therapie, masturbierenden Jungen die Vorhaut zu entfernen - ohne Betäubung. Masturbierenden Mädchen sollte die Vagina mit unverdünnter Phenolsäure verätzt werden."
http://www.news.de/gesellschaft/855312815/john-kellogg-cornflakes-helfen-gegen-masturbation/1/

America still choppes It off!

What is it, you're distressed about?? ... Harvey

[michijo]

Yes, I was circumcised in the USA and I am not a Jew. Doctors said it was for health reasons. Clearly it is the Jewish conspiracy to make all Americans become Jews. This cabal must end! ;)

[michijo]

It is clearly part of the USA's paranoid society. It's like the "objects in mirror are closer than they appear warning". My Belgian friend said that it was American paranoia, that this warning was not in Europe at all. Circumcision is probably the same.

[koogleschreiber]

By the way, this reminds me of an old joke that can't be translated:
Was heißt Phimose auf Plattdeutsch?
Engholm!

[Jake]

michijo,

"Clearly it is the Jewish conspiracy to make all Americans become Jews."

There is something to this.
I'm German, not Circumcised, living in America.
Whenever i show a Knife or Scissor to my Foreskin, i start talking in Tongues and i think its Hebrew ... Pots honest Truth!

... A Rabbi catches a Thief in his Synagogue.
'What did you take, the Rabbi asks'

'Nothin, says the Thief, .. i was just hungry and ate that Bowl of Pork-Chop'

'Idiot, says the Rabbi, .. we've had 30 Circumcisions yesterday ...'