More on circumcision headed our way.
The Forward reports on “highest-level case in American history involving the right to circumcision is slated to be heard this fall, when the Oregon Supreme Court rules on whether a father can have his 12-year-old son undergo the procedure.”
The basis of the case is a nasty custody battle, with the father a recent convert to Judaism. The mother claims that the boy is afraid to tell his father that he does not want to be circumcised. I note that there is no mention of whether the boy has an opinion on the conversion (at least none in this article) itself. The mother also claims that the child would be psychologically and physically harmed by the procedure (I wonder what our Muslim fellow citizens think of that?)
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The thing that’s unusual about the case is that generally American courts stay out of cases involving religion such as this. The Forward comments:
The acceptance of the case by Oregon’s highest court is surprising, because judges generally grant a wide degree of latitude to custodial parents — so much so, in fact, that the state’s Court of Appeals rejected the mother’s case without issuing an opinion. If the Oregon Supreme Court decides to review the merits of the father’s plan for circumcision, it will almost inevitably weigh in on two related issues: the right of custodial parents to guide their children’s religious upbringings, and the weight that religious considerations should be given when considering the welfare of a child.
Because of this, the stakes are generally conceded to be high by everyone, and so badvocates for both sides of the story are getting their elbows in the door.
All I have to say: It doesn’t bode well for the poor kid – Ms. Boldt (the mother) may be full of concern for her son’s psychological health, but I wonder if maybe they could iron out some of these other matters first – like what his name is.
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wow! i leave for a day and there are cocks on the homepage! i should’ve left sooner!
—Mobius · August 16th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
lol. well anyway, this “circumcision debate” is really irrelevant. even if all the experts said it was bad for you and the government made it illegal, we’d still do it. i suggest all of yall google yoseph leib’s post on dina d’ malchusa dina.
hey who knows maybe if they say its bad for you or make it illegal, maybe all the kids will think its cool and get it done anyway.
—shmuel · August 16th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
why not wait till the kid is 13 and let him decide for himself, on both the conversion *and* the snipping?
—Amit · August 16th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
[...] Loved your post. Nothing makes male circumcision quite as appealing as when feminists support it incessantly, especially with graphics! Isn’t there a better way to express one’s *love* of cock? And yes, I got your dotted line shtuch. Cause I’m quick like that. [...]
—My Rebuttal to Kol Ra’ash Gadol of Jewschool : The Kvetcher · August 16th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I don’t know what ‘our Muslim fellow citizens’ at large think – but I’m more traumatized by bullies in junior high than I am by my circumcision. Inasmuch as I’ve ever shown my circumcised bits to women, they don’t have a problem with it – nor do I.
Tho since he’s 12, perhaps he should be told, because when my parents had it done, I was under 4. In Turkey, it’s given a big ritual, boys are given a big celebratory dinner and marched around in Sultan’s clothes and given horse or donkey rides, before being circumcised and wearing a red sash the next day… which at least puts it in a context and they get to be told ‘You’re now a man’ and what not. It’s the closest muslims get to a Bar Mitzvah… unless they’re invited to one.
To get to the end, so to speak, no – I don’t have a problem with circumcision, and I hope my future wife doesn’t either – because it’s still part of our tradition, and ties us back to the shared Prophet (and Patriarch) Abraham, peace be upon him.
—dawud · August 16th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
I do not wish to debate the entire circumcision issue but if this child was a she instead of a he and if the father belonged to a religion that supported trimming just a bit of the female labia, would you support it?
This child wasn’t given a bris as an infant. He’s old enough to make his own decision. At this point, he is the only one who should legally be allowed to make this decision. And even if the child decides he want to follow through with the circumcision, he should be counseled to make sure he isn’t making a decision just to please or displease one parent or the other.
In the big scheme of things, doesn’t everyone else think it’s just sad for the poor child? First his parnets are fighting and divorcing. They they bring him and his genitals into the spotlight for the entire world to know about. Junior High will only be made more uncomfortable by all of this, I’m certain!
—Becka · August 17th, 2007 at 12:55 am
Yes I do indeed feel sorry for the kid. I know how much my mother used us to get at my father in anyway she could. Some things she did would horrify you. There is clearly courtroom bias towards the mother in divorce cases.
I am willing to bet she doesn’t even care about her kid’s cock, she is only trying to virtually cut off her ex’s.
—Nathan · August 17th, 2007 at 6:52 am
I think Halakha would probably require that the child wait til next year. Once he’s an adult, he can make his own decisions about his own body.
And, KRG, I think the pictures were gratuitous. Leave the flesh for the flesh sites, IMO.
—danielbu · August 21st, 2007 at 9:57 am
What will they do in Israel? Does he need to be circumcised before he goes?
—vampares · August 23rd, 2007 at 5:56 pm