I was actually sent a link to an article on this by @richcooper not that long ago, and was not surprised to hear he was as outraged as I on learning of this. I'm sure there's more of you out there with information on this, so feel free to share and get involved.
So, a circumcision ritual practiced by some Orthodox Jews has alarmed New York City health officials, as it has led to eleven cases of herpes— two of them fatal— in infants... The practice is known as oral suction, or in Hebrew, metzitzah b'peh: after removing the foreskin of the penis, the practitioner, or mohel, sucks the blood from the wound to clean it.
Yes, you read that right. Like so:
Despite this, ultra-Orthodox leaders are actually fighting the Health Department's “evil plans” to make it compulsory to obtain signed parental-consent forms before performing the procedure. About 200 rabbis signed a proclamation claiming the city “printed and spread lies...in order to justify their evil decree. It is clear to us, that there is not even an iota of blame or danger in this ancient and holy custom,” the letter states.
Ok, so most modern mohels use a sterile pipette for the suction process, but some Orthodox practices still insist on the ancient tradition of the oral suction procedure (a phrase that makes me feel physically sick). And there's no denying that this is directly responsible for these reported cases of herpes. But, amongst the controversy, everyone seems to be forgetting that regardless of the methods, circumcising young boys on religious grounds really amounts to nothing more than grievous bodily harm!
Anyway, New York city will vote next week as to whether mohels will have to distribute consent waivers, detailing the herpes risk, before the ritual.
Doesn't really matter though, 'cause even if it passes, the rabbis have made it clear they won't comply! “For the government to force a rabbi who’s practicing a religious act to tell his congregants it’s dangerous is totally unacceptable,” said Rabbi David Niederman, executive director of the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg. “You’re forcing the mohel and the parent to sign a piece of paper that contradicts their religious convictions.”
“It warns parents that the city suggests a link between the practice and serious health worries, and it would undoubtedly have a chilling impact,” said Michael Tobman, a political consultant working with several large Hasidic communities. So in other words, the forms are bad because it could make parents stop and think for a moment about the decision whether to let a mohel such as Rabbi Yitzchok Fischer — who was given a court order to stop performing the practice after he was found to have infected at least three boys with herpes — put his mouth on their child's penis?
When will the world stop turning a blind eye to cases of child abuse in religious circumstance? And screw getting parental consent, circumcision on religious grounds should just be illegal!
I actually don't know what else to say about this, but really, I shouldn't worry - because there's no way I could put it any better than Christopher Hitchens anyway:
"Jewish babies exposed to herpes in New York, thousands of American children injured for life after the rape and torture they suffered at the hands of a compliant Catholic priesthood, prelates and mullahs outbidding each other in denial of AIDS … it's not just your mental health that is challenged by faith. Anyone who says that this evil deserves legal protection is exactly as guilty as the filthy old men who delight in inflicting it. What a pity that there is no hell."
Yours disgusted, and once again horrified and baffled by religion,
L.
P.s. If you haven't already, check out my Tumblr- some anti-religion quotes on there!
