A district judge in Cologne, Germany, recently ruled that ritual circumcision is a crime, violating “the fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity,” which outweighs other parental and religious rights. “This change runs counter to the interests of the child,” the court concluded, “who can decide his religious affiliation himself later in life.” (source)
Now of course if the mother had chosen to have an abortion and chopping up the child – bodily integrity not so big a deal. So maybe in utero circumcision?
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I’m faitly sure abortion laws in Germany are less liberal than they are in America. Anything after the first trimester is socially completely unacceptable from the Germans I know and it is not legal past that point. (still wrong – I get that but different than here) At 11 weeks gestation, the genitalia of boys and girls are nearly identical and tiny. They aren’t aborting viable fetuses as we are here. At any rate, two wrongs don’t make a right. Circumcision does not protect against disease and amputates a healthy body part.
Wow. I wonder how the German Jews feel about that?
Hopefully this will spread and that barbaric and bizarre superstition will be done away with world-wide.
Although I can see the protests now “It’s our religious freedom to mutilate our children!” and how it’s all worse than Hitler.
Of all the weird things modern theists do circumcision is only second to you guys eating your god every Sunday. That at least has the benefit of being unreal and inert whereas the mutilation is real and more than a little disgusting.
As for abortion, once again, how many babies die in childbirth? How many died before modern medical science? If your god really wanted kids to live you’d think it would have come up with a safer birthing procedure.
Oh, right, Eve ate the magic fruit that your god made sure she would eat so it had to punish all women.
Lovely god you have there, not crazy at all!
Yeah, because my circumcision ruined my life. Expect for the part where it didn’t.
It doesn’t affect me so what does it matter!?!?
A truly awesome counter-point except:
A one-month-old baby from Queen’s Park bled to death less than two days after he was circumcised, an inquest heard.
Angelo Ofori-Mintah’s operation went according to plan, but a few hours later the incision began to bleed.
kilburntimes.co.uk/news/queen_s_park_baby_bled_to_death_two_days_after_being_circumcised_1_1419367
It’s a stupid, pointless ritual that has no place in our modern world.
Find other ways to appease your angry god.
One reason I left my son’s body alone. He’s old enough to keep himself clean.