Huffington Post
July 13, 2012
German Chancellor Angela Merkel Promises Freedom For Circumcision To Germany's Jewish And Muslim Communities
By Stephen Brown(Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman promised Germany's Jewish and Muslim communities on Friday they would be free to carry out circumcision on young boys despite a court ban which has provoked concerns about religious freedom.
[Not a ban, an age-restriction.]
In a country that is especially sensitive to allegations of intolerance because of the Nazis' slaughter of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, the government said it would find a way around the Cologne court ban in June as a matter of urgency.
[German's Basic Law (~Constitution) is strong on human rights precisely because of the Holocaust.]
"For everyone in the government it is absolutely clear that we want to have Jewish and Muslim religious life in Germany," said Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert. "Circumcision carried out in a responsible manner must be possible in this country without punishment."
...
"It is well know that in the Jewish religion early circumcision carries great meaning, so it is a matter of urgency that this right be restored," said Seibert, adding that Merkel's own office would be involved in efforts to resolve the problem.
"We know a quick decision is needed and that this cannot be put off. Freedom of religious practice is a very important legal right for us," he said.
[More important than individuals' rights to undisturbed possession of their genitals?]
...
Earlier story
"Circumcision carried out in a responsible manner must be possible in this country without punishment."
ReplyDeleteEven if it carries risks such as hemorrhage, MRSA infection, herpes, partial or full ablation, or even death? Even when "carried out in a responsible manner?"
What if female circumcision were carried out in "responsible manner?"
"It is well know that in the Jewish religion early circumcision carries great meaning, so it is a matter of urgency that this right be restored..."
Female circumcision carries "great meaning" to Islam, especially in South East Asia. But these beliefs are less important than Jewish ones...
"We know a quick decision is needed and that this cannot be put off. Freedom of religious practice is a very important legal right for us..."
Hopefully he means across the board and not just the freedom of religious practice of Jews...
Joseph, didn't you know? There's absolutely no responsible way whatsoever (including for a decades-long trained physician of the surgical arts) to make even a pin prick of just a girl's labia—that is, until the girl reaches the age of her legal majority and decides to seek such a service of her own volition.
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