Finland: Considering legalizing male circumcision

Finland is considering legalising the practice of male circumcision. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is currently preparing draft legislation, which would make circumcision acceptable when performed by a doctor, according to the parents' wishes, and with the child's consent.


According to the bill, parents can choose to perform the procedure on behalf of a small child. However difficulties may arise in cases where one parent opposes the circumcision. Officials hope to bring the bill before Parliament as early as this year.


In Finland circumcisions are carried out for religious purposes by members of the Jewish, Muslim and Tartar communities. Estimates are that currently about 100 operations are performed annually.


Police Investigate Two Circumcision Cases


Currently the law on male circumcision is somewhat hazy. Information about circumcisions is passed on to police for further investigation. Police enquiries have put an end to some attempts to carry out circumcisions, since the procedure is treated as serious abuse.


In 2006, the Turku district court convicted a Muslim mother for circumcising her son, however she was not sentenced. The Court of Appeal subsequently ruled that the mother was not guilty of abuse. The case is now being considered in the Finnish Supreme Court.


Helsinki police are currently investigating two cases in which male circumcisions were performed by Muslim and Jewish families. Both operations were performed by persons brought into Finland by the families, and who were not medical professionals.


Police say that complications arose following the procedures and the babies had to be hospitalised. The cases will be reviewed by the prosecutor during the autumn.



Source: YLE (English)

4 comments:

FreeSpeech said...

Why should male circumcision be ok while female isn't?

Hugh7 said...

"parents can choose to perform the procedure on behalf of a small child"

"On behalf of" - as if that is what the child would choose for himself, then or ever.

The main reason the custom carries on is that it is done by force to someone who has no choice. Later on, in something like the Stockholm Syndrome, rather than face the fact that his sexual equipment has been reduced, he embraces circumcision for any of hundreds of bad reasons and imposes it on the next generation down. Here is a n examination of the process.

Tuan Jim said...

ok, maybe it's just me, but in the US I thought it was pretty much standard procedure to circumcise the kids when they're born - or at least I'm pretty sure it was when in the early 80s. I know there's a bit more of a to-do these days about harm to the kids and all that, but it's a fairly recent development.

I know when I was growing up, there were a lot more cut than uncut boys in my school.

Maybe I'm missing something from that somewhat vague article.

Anonymous said...

Tuan jim, you must be American too. It's about time the free world put its foot down and stopped allowing inhumane practices in the name of religion like circumcision and halal and kosher slaughter. The underlying belief here is that because Judaism (and maybe Islam, but I think that in Finland at least they might not be so inclined to make that exception unless Muslims were protesting that Jews do it too) requires circumcusion that it should be legal, but I disagree with that. Yes, Abraham did it, but he also had a concubine. It doesn't make it right. It doesn't mean that it doesn't deviate from the Golden Rule, the underlying basis of morality with which Judaism has always abided in theory. AND ABRAHAM DID IT TO HIMSELF. He didn't do it to some child who had no say in the matter. The child has no say in the matter and the "child's consent" is an oxymoron. If they can consent to mutilating themselves, can they then consent to sex or marriage? Of course not. They're children. And once male circumcision is legalized on religious grounds, then Shafi Muslims will get to legally mutilate litte girls on "religious grounds," even though the two practices have nothing to do with one another and are as analogous as trimming one's nails and cutting off one's hand. But male circumcision is horrible. I can say with some experience that it's really quite tragic what it does to the sex lives of those men and their women. They always have issues with premature ejaculation, some have horrible pain from adhesions, and some have their sex drives destroyed by the procedure. Plus uncircumcised penises are wider and have that cool gliding motion. Yet another reason why I love Mexicans. They're not circumcised.