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Permalink Reply by eugene on July 14, 2012 at 4:32am

The German court has ruled, but male circumcision should be addressed, in my view, from two perspective. The first concerns whether the procedure has any health benefit. It's been reported recently that male circumcision could reduce the transmission rated of the HIV virus, since it is believed the removal of the sac eliminates the source of habitation for the virus. If the research is deemed conclusive, then it could be continued. It should be pointed out that such surgery should be done by qualified medical officers and not religious leaders who do not have the requisite experience. On the other hand, if it is done for purely religious reasons, with no health benefit, then it should be discouraged and discontinued, since  infants have no capacity to consent to the surgery. I would end by saying that such a potentially life threatening procedure should not be handled by religious leaders or officials whose motivation is purely emotional and not scientific.