Will Danish Jews be able to perform a circumcision on their children? Not if the Danish Medical Association has its way.
The heads of the Danish Medical Association are considering promoting legislation which will proscribe circumcision before the age of 18. At that point people will be allowed to make a decision about whether they wish to undergo the procedure.
Liza Muller, director of the Ethical committee in the Danish Medical Association said that “Circumcision must be an informed and personal decision which young people make for themselves.
It is not right to deny a person the right to choose whether he wishes to undergo circumcision or not. The choice is part of an individual’s right to self-determination and parents should not make the decision for him but rather should leave it to him to decide when he reaches the appropriate age.”
Muller added that “Since circumcision is a dangerous procedure, it should be performed only when there is a medical necessity to perform it.”
The heads of the Danish Medical Association announced that they are considering petitioning the local parliament to pass a law which would prevent performance of circumcision before 18 and only with the consent of the youth who wishes to undergo the procedure, but they have not decided whether the matter should be prohibited by law, as the issue has implications for religious people.
Circumcision is performed by the Jewish community residing it Denmark but it is a very small community. According to estimates 1000-2000 circumcisions are performed every year in Denmark. mainly in the Jewish and Muslim communities residing there.
The Danish Health Ministry announced that as of 2017 it would require all circumcisions performed in the country to be registered at the local health office in order to supervise them.
A survey taken recently revealed that 87% of Danish residents favor banning circumcision by law.
