When Bill de Blasio was running for New York City mayor in May 2013, he said that he would “come in day one to City Hall with a new policy” to protect babies from contracting herpes during a controversial circumcision rite while respecting “religious tradition.” Last January, during his first month in office, Mayor de…
Another infant in New York City has been infected with herpes during a metzitzah b’peh ritual, city health authorities reported. The infection occurred in November, according to an official statement. The baby was diagnosed with herpes 12 days after his circumcision, during which the mohel applied direct oral suction on the infant’s penis. The infection…
The benefits of male circumcision mean that the procedure should be recommended to parents of newborn boys, according to a draft of federal guidelines. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found according to the recommendations released on Tuesday that circumcision lowers the risk of getting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well…
Swedish lawmakers voted down a bill that would require parents to pay for non-medical circumcision of boys. The right-wing Sweden Democrats party brought the bill to a vote Tuesday at the regional council of Blekinge County in the kingdom’s south, Sveriges Radio reported. The party claimed that the practice should not be covered by the…
Denmark’s national health authority sees no risks to justify recommending a ban on the non-medical circumcision of boys, the body’s director said in parliament. The Danish Health and Medicines Authority’s director-general, Else Smith, made the statement during her address at a debate in the Danish parliament on Wednesday on the custom, which two Danish parties…
A new poll indicates that 74 percent of Denmark’s citizens believe circumcision should be fully or partially banned. The survey was released Tuesday, the day before a parliamentary hearing believed to be a potential first step in implementing a circumcision ban. Two Danish parties favor a ban, while others are divided on the issue. Only…
South Africa may turn to an Israeli circumcision device to reduce the number of young males who die in botched initiation ceremonies, provoking an outcry from union allies of the ruling party who support sanctions against the Jewish state. Every year, dozens of teenaged South African males die of blood loss or infection in traditional…
A controversial circumcision regulation hangs in the balance in New York City after a federal appeals court ruled that the regulation targets the freedom of religion of some Orthodox Jews and must therefore be reviewed under a standard known as “strict scrutiny.” Robert Simins, a lawyer for the Orthodox groups who opposed the regulation, hailed…
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