NORWAY: "We can't go first" - Minister

the Foreigner
July 3, 2012

Norway minister discounts anti-circumcision move

By Michael Sandelson
Norwegian Ministry officials sent a legal proposal to allow ritual neo-natal circumcisions at hospitals out for hearing in May 2011 aimed at preventing the practise going underground. The issue of permitting this is to be discussed in Parliament after the summer recess.

Child Ombudsman Reidar Hjermann has also argued for the imposing of a minimum age requirement of 15.

Whilst tri-partite coalition member the Centre Party (Sp) has officially vetoed the multi thousand-year tradition, the minister told VG, “We’d be the only country in the world to forbid ritual circumcision if we moved for this. I cannot, therefore, think that this will apply.”
[Where have we heard that before? How many countries "can't go first" before one can?]

A Cologne District Court Judge recently ruled

...

Meanwhile, Norwegian Health Ministry advisor Tord Dale explained that the government proposes that a Mohel performs the procedure in hospital supervised by medical staff, with strict hygiene, and pain relief requirements, before the child travels home following birth.

Muslim male circumcisions have no fixed age and are carried out according to familial, regional, and national traditions. Jews circumcise male children on the eight day to recall their covenant with God.

“The most important is that it is carried out in a safe way. A Mohel performs far more of these than most Norwegian doctors do,” said Tord Dale.
[But there is no evidence that ritual circumcision is any safer than other kinds.]

NORWAY: Ban ritual circumcision of boys: Centre Party

The Local (Norway)
June 13, 2012

Ban ritual circumcision of boys: Centre Party

The practice of ritually circumcising infant boys is outdated, dangerous, and should be banned, according to Centre Party justice policy spokeswoman Jenny Klinge.

“In my view, this is a custom that we cannot accept in a modern, civilized society. Our aim is to prioritize the rights of small children. Fortunately, it has become forbidden to circumcise girls, now it’s time for boys to get the same legal protection,” Klinge told newspaper Dagbladet.

Although the Centre Party itself a junior partner in Norway’s Red-Green coalition government, the politician also criticized the government’s decision to consult experts on the possibility of introducing circumcision into the public healthcare system, a move she fears would legitimize the practice.

She stressed that she was not opposed to circumcision in cases where it was deemed a medical necessity.

“But circumcision based on ritual and religion is actually about holding down a newborn baby boy and cutting off part of a healthy sexual organ, with all the consequences that this might have for an individual’s future health and sex life,” said Klinge.

With this in mind, performing a circumcision on religious grounds ought to be made a criminal offence, she added.

Jan Helge Solbakk, a professor of medical ethics at Oslo University, agreed with Klinge’s criticism of the practice.

“It represents an irreversible operation on a boy who is not in a position to protect himself, and as such is in breach of basic human rights,” he told Dagbladet.

Earlier story