The ACLU has weighed in on a lawsuit to quash the pending referendum in SF to outlaw circumcision for minors. From the California Report story:
The ballot measure would make the circumcision of a male younger than 18 years old a misdemeanor carrying up to $1,000 in fines or a year in jail. There would be no religious exemption to the ban, even though Jewish and Muslim followers consider circumcision part of their religion. The move flies in the face of mainstream practices. The New York Times has reported that 80 percent of U.S. males are circumcised. A group seeking to get the ban off the ballot cites a number of mainstream sources, including Harvard and UC San Francisco physicians, saying the procedure can stem the spread of AIDS and should be based on parental choice. In the brief filed Friday, the ACLU argues that state law bans any city or county from passing a law that restricts a licensed medical professional from performing “any procedure that falls within the professionally recognized scope of practice of that licensee.” In other words, no city authority can stop a doctor from doing things that doctors normally do. I rarely say this, but right on ACLU!
I rarely say this anymore, but rock and roll ACLU!
(Let’s not debate circumcision again. I think we’ve had more than enough of that. Please restrict comments to the ACLU’s legal argument. Violations will not be posted. Thank you.)
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