Iceland is considering a law that would make it the first European country to outlaw male circumcision for anyone under the age of 18. The bill proposes up to six years imprisonment for anyone who performs a circumcision on a child that is not for medical reasons.
European religious leaders say the restriction would impinge upon religious freedoms while other people argue that a child’s welfare and bodily integrity supersedes any religious traditions.
Male circumcision is commonly practiced by Jews and Muslims. In some countries, including the U.S., male circumcision is popular across religions and ethnicities, for alleged health and cultural reasons. The World Health Organization estimated in 2009 that about one in three men globally is circumcised.
Male circumcision is “a non-negotiable element of Jewish identity,” a spokesman for Milah UK, a Jewish campaign group, told The Guardian, adding that Iceland’s proposed ban is “extremely concerning.”
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the Catholic Church in the European Union, called the proposal a “dangerous attack” on religious freedom. “Protecting the health of children is a legitimate goal of every society, but in this case this concern is instrumentalised, without any scientific basis, to stigmatise certain religious communities,” Marx said last week, according to the Catholic News Agency. “This is extremely worrying.”
The bill reportedly has strong public support. Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir, a member of parliament from the Progressive Party, said she proposed the bill after realising there were no restrictions on male circumcision in Iceland, even though female circumcision was outlawed in 2005.
“I see it as a child protection matter,” Gunnarsdóttir told Euronews. “In Iceland we acknowledge the right to believe but we also acknowledge the right and freedom of everyone to choose and have their opinions.”
She added: “I stand by that and I say people should be allowed to have their beliefs for themselves but you have to draw the line when it’s about other people. Children should also have their own rights for their own beliefs when they are adults.”
The bill says people who want to be circumcised for religious or cultural reasons can do so once they are old enough to “understand what is involved in such an action.”
Male circumcision has long been a controversial issue in Europe. In 2012, Germany considered a ban but ― following months of fierce debate ― ruled that only doctors or trained experts could perform the procedure. In 2016, doctors in Denmark deemed non-medical male circumcisions to be “ethically unacceptable” when performed on children under the age of 18. Many doctors in Sweden refuse to perform the procedure for non-medical reasons.