New York May End Consent Forms for Controversial Circumcision Rite

By JTA June 11, 2015

The New York City Board of Health may waive a consent form for a controversial circumcision rite.

In an effort to cooperate with Orthodox community leaders, the Board of Health voted Wednesday night to mull a plan for hospitals to distribute a brochure in English and Yiddish to Orthodox patients that talks about the danger of contracting herpes from metzitzah b’peh, The New York Times reported.

Metzitzah b’peh, a ritual in which the mohel sucks blood from the wound following circumcision, is a common traditional practice among many haredi Orthodox mohels. When performed directly with the mouth as opposed to through a sterile pipette, it has been linked directly to the transmission of the herpes virus.

Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly has been behind to push to resolve the issue in an effort to improve relations with the haredi Orthodox community.

A public hearing on the issue will be held in July, with the board expected to make a final decision in September.

A law requiring parents to sign a consent form for the rite was enacted in 2012 after at least 11 boys contracted herpes from metzitzah b’peh between 2004 and 2011. Two died and two suffered brain damage.

There were four cases of herpes allegedly contracted during metzitzah b’peh in 2014 and 17 since 2000, according to the health department.

For the most part, however, the law has not been enforced.

In August, a federal appeals court called for a review of the New York City law related to metzitzah b’peh, saying that under the federal guarantee of free exercise of religion, the law is subject to “strict scrutiny.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO