Russian TV: A poll shows that 70 percent of Germans oppose a new law that would effectively prohibit male circumcision in the country, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Only 24 percent supported thenotion.
Russian TV: A poll shows that 70 percent of Germans oppose a new law that would effectively prohibit male circumcision in the country, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Only 24 percent supported thenotion.
You have made a crucial mistake in your report.
The law which 70% of the population oppose
does in fact legalize male circumcision.
Mr. Schritt (comment above) is correct. The new law states that circumcision of infants can be legally done if it’s done by a trained professional (not necessarily a doctor) for any reason the parents choose. Children of age 6 months or above can only be circumcised by a medical doctor.
70% of Germans oppose this law, most stating that it should be the protected right of the child to have an intact body, to not undergo medically nonsensical surgery, and to have the freedom to choose to be circumcised when it’s old enough to give informed consent (age 14 by German law).
The decision of the German parliament and government to create an exemption from child protection and basic rights laws does not represent the will of Germany’s citizens.
Following this argument I would assume that all child vaccinations should be postponed until the child is 14 and can give its consent. Probably the mothers should not breast-feed the child also until age 14 so that the child can decide whether it wants breast milk or NESTLE FORMULA.
Mr. Tschannen, let me restate that medically nonsensical surgery on children is prohibited under German law, with the new exception of circumcision. Vaccinations are allowed because they have undergone extensive medical testing for efficacy and risks.
Your mention of breastfeeding… well, please don’t make a fool of yourself.
The mistake is in fact in the original Russian TV report. As Mr. Schritt (and Mr. Hoefert) correctly state above the law actually makes circumcision LEGAL (not illegal), which 70% of the German population opposes. (It is good for the Muslims to have the Jews on their side – once in a while).
Dear Mr. Schritt and Mr. Hoefert: Agreed that the headline was misleading due to having a double negative. What is however, intriguing for me is the following. I have always had high praise for German nation for being quite logical and evidence driven, yet in this case, even while several studies have proven the high level of protection that circumcision provides to sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS (confirmed and recommended by WHO) the Germans- 70% of them seem to reject it. When Dr. Edward Jenner did his first inoculation, it might have seemed quite barbaric from modern standards, yet small scale trials, once successful led to immediate up scaling of vaccinations. Ethically it is not possible to continue trials if efficacy of a method is well proven. Sorry to be a bit provocative (but want sincerely to understand this), but is evidence in favor of circumcision being held hostage to the fact that it is a jewish custom? if not what is the explanation of this large scale bias against a logical recommendation? By the way there are many non invasive and child friendly methods of circumcision. After 14 it is absolutely not funny to get it done.
Mr. Alim, I must reject the HIV argument.
First, the WHO study based on Afrikan, sexually active adults in a high-risk area. It has never been recommended for minors. Second, the study is highly controversial, because it had a few flaws and was ended preliminary. There are several indications from comparisions with other countries where circumcised men had a higher HIC rate. Third, the reduction of a HIV risk does not make a condom obsolete in HIV protection, while a condom makes additional circumcision obsolete. Furthermore, the risk of an infection can even rise, because the loss of sexual sensitivity can tempt men to practise unprotected sex, esp. in addition with the assumed “immunity”. Consider the fact that the western country with the highest HIV rate – the US – is also the only country with a significant rate of circumcised men.
The only argument that still holds in germany is religion. And in our society, the rights to an unharmed body usually outweighs the parent’s religious wishes by far. Thats why the law is not accepted by the population.
Oh, and the comparison with a vaccination isn’t valid for Germany as well, since a circ has no benefits that haven’t been disproven in last 2 decades, while a vaccination clearly has a protective effect.
A quick addition to my former comment:
This is a link to a statement from the head of
the german pediatric society made for a government
hearing during the law making process.
It contains a lot of the info I stated above, and
is well worth a read.
And by the way, thank you for your response – it
is always nice to see people willing to engage in
a diskussion !
http://www.rz-etelsen.net/Hartmann%20-%20German%20Statement.pdf