Norway: Children's Ombudsman proposes minimum age for circumcision
Via Dagbladet (Norwegian):
Children's Ombudsman Reidar Hjermann says there should be a minimum age for circumcisions for boys. That age should be either 15, when Norwegian children can make decisions regarding religion, or 16, when they can make health-related decisions.
Hjermann says he's received negative responses from religious leaders. He said he also spoke with youth. "We've had a meeting with four circumcised boys from the Middle East and Africa, and three of them think a minimum age is proper. At the same time, they said that the parents' generation will be opposed to a minimum age. They thought the procedure didn't have to do so much with culture but mostly with religion."
Norwegian Jews responded very negatively to the Ombudsman's attitude. "A minimum age is in practice a ban on us, who circumcise our children on the 8th day. Circumcision is an existential questions, and therefore the Children's Ombudsman's proposal is dramatic and serious for us," said Ervin Kohn, head of the Jewish Community in Norway.
