Integrity (Physical and Otherwise)

The United States isn’t the only country seeking to restrict religious liberty. A German court has ruled that circumcision is illegal unless done out of medical necessity, calling it a “severe and irreversible interference into physical integrity.” I wonder if abortion is an interference into physical integrity.

A German legal scholar praised court’s boldness:

“As opposed to many politicians, the court was not deterred by fears of being criticized for anti-Semitism or hostility toward religion,” he said. “This decision could not only influence future jurisdiction, it could also lead the relevant religions to change their attitude with respect to the fundamental nature of children’s rights.”

Another commentator has this to say:

Ultimately, this is not about circumcision and bodily injury. It is about the question whether in contemporary society it is still possible to bring up children in the context of any particular cultural or religious tradition, be it Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, or whether any such education must be put off until the day when the child, at age 14 or 18, is old enough “to decide for itself.” But what can it decide itself for, if until that age it is not allowed to get acquainted with any such cultural heritage?