I don't know...it looks like he's doing OK so far.
Posted on 08/24/2012 4:32:55 AM PDT by markomalley
BERLIN - In the debate in Germany over circumcision, you often hear people say jokingly that if cutting the foreskin off a baby boy’s penis for religious reasons is outlawed then piercing little girls’ earlobes shouldn’t be allowed either. But that’s just the scenario that may be shaping up. After a Cologne court ruled in June that circumcision was illegal, a Berlin judge is examining whether or not ear-piercing should be as well.
The issue has come up in conjunction with a suit against a tattoo studio by the parents of a three-year-old girl whose ears were pierced at the studio. A judge must rule on whether the parents should be punished for having sought the piercing, and whether the studio can be prosecuted for not having refused to perform the procedure. A decision is expected by August 31.
The parents of the girl said in their suit that the child cried from an inordinate amount of pain as her ears were being pierced. During a medical examination three days later the child was still manifesting a traumatic reaction.
Many doctors argue that the same holds true for circumcision: although it’s just a small cut, Jewish and Muslim boys who undergo the procedure suffer not only physically but psychologically from it.
The issue of circumcision could be coming up before a German court again shortly as the prosecution in the city of Hof in Bavaria completes an inquiry against Rabbi David Goldberg who conducts ritual circumcisions some 30 times a year.
Sebastian Guevara Kamm, a doctor in the central German city of Giessen, has filed a complaint against the rabbi, accusing him of inflicting bodily harm. According to Kamm, Rabbi Goldberg does not have a medical license to perform the operation, and performs it without anesthetic in medically unsuitable conditions.
The prosecution in Hof is aware of the explosive nature of the issue, and lead prosecuting attorney Gerhard Schmitt has said that he wants to "examine all aspects" before proceeding. He stated that the material was very complex due to its considerable political importance and that the inquiry could thus stretch out over a matter of weeks.
Just how complicated the issue is became clear on Thursday in Berlin when circumcision was discussed by the German National Ethics Council. The Council agreed unanimously (albeit conditionally) that the religious practice could not be forbidden, yet Council member Reinhard Merkel, a legal scholar in Hamburg, stated that it was "bizarre" that religious communities were allowed to define when and how a human body could be injured.
Merkel spoke of a "legal policy crisis" that entailed weighing a child’s right to bodily integrity against religious requirements. In the case of the Jews, “indebtedness” to them on the part of the world community should allow for a “special law” with regard to the practice, he said.
Cologne-based Council member Wolfram Höfling, an expert in constitutional law, considered the issue in terms of parental rights, saying that if parents for religious reasons consider the ritual to be in the best interests of the child then this should be respected, particularly as circumcisions have been performed millions of times without complications or traumatization.
Jewish Council member Leo Latasch and Muslim representative Ilhan Ilkilic both stressed the importance of the ritual in their respective religions.
But despite differences of opinion, the Ethics Council had, said its Chair Christian Woopen, come to the conclusion that circumcision should be allowed albeit under qualified medical supervision, with anesthetic, and provision of comprehensive information to the parents beforehand about possible risks of the procedure.
Germany...first the Jews, then the Gypsies.
ok so what about the issues with uncircumcised, adhesions, dirt, cancer. Hey most kids in the US are circumcised in the hospital my boys were, no big deal.
The ear piercing is stupid, but most little girls want them pierced. We waited until 5th grade. I remember lying to get mine pierced, saying it was ok with my mom. Hey, my grandma from Russia had hers pierced with a needle and a potato, just because my mom objected meant nothing to me.
OH brother.
This starts out talking about banning circumcision because it's harmful, but at the end says it is done by those without a medical license without anesthetic (????).
My brother and I were born in a Jewish hospital (USA) where our circumcisions were performed, and my parents were not Jewish and my mother was a nurse at the time, and I am grateful for it.
Or at least buggering him if he can be seduced.
I don't know...it looks like he's doing OK so far.
What about Muslims, they do this too, and the world doesn’t owe them any special debt.
I love it that they’ve moved right on to ear piercing.
Who controls your child? You or the state?
Considering that I can think of at least 2 girls that pierced their own ears (or, rather, each other’s) with a paper clip they heated with a lighter to sterilize it, going to a tattoo piercing place with a guy who knows how to do needles and meet cleanliness standards is not bad.
Agree that there is a horrific double standard. Want to stop bodily development with hormones of a child who says they are the wrong gender? OK. Want to circumcise, something that reduces the child’s risk of picking up and transmitting STDs? Not OK.
If ear piercing is wrong, at least in minors, because of the pain and suffering, how is the risk of fatal diseases like AIDS and antibiotic resistant STDs from free love NOT restricted by limiting sex in minors?
No to body piercing.
My mother flat out refused to let me get my ears pierced. In my first act as a major, I had my ears pierced on my 18th birthday.
Gee, I thought it was the circumcision that made Jews so intelligent and smart. Probably why they want to ban it.
:)
Any talk about banning abortion?
Is Obama the first thought you have when you wake up?? That must be terrible.
:)
I see these two cases as money at the root of the first one, with the parents gold-digging the tattoo parlor and money in the second one, the doctor wanting circumcision done by doctors for the $$$$.
Same here. I was in college and two of my sorority sisters took me to the mall to make sure I actually got it done.
Not anymore..approx 35-40% are not having it done and those figures are growing.
Yes, I'm not sure that I've ever recovered from that fateful day 40-odd years ago. /sar
I think that mothers who get their babies' ears pierced are pretty foolish. I'd worry about the earring coming out and becoming a choking hazard. Also, about them getting snagged on things.
But do we need to regulate it? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Consequences of rebellion against God? Laws coming out your ears!
But the overreach of wicked rulers demands that we disobey their anti-Christ edicts.
Which ones? I wish there was serious discussion of this among Christians. It’s happening all around us and wisdom is needed in how to deal with insane man and his laws without dishonoring God and the order he established.
Did ya hear about the doctor who did circumcisions for free???
He only took tips...
and then..
He made a fortune by turning the tips into wallets...when you rub them, they turn into instant luggage.
Here till Tuesday, try the veal!!!
Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.