Sep 3, 2012 1:47pm
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis in New York City say if a proposed law requiring parental consent for a circumcision ritual linked to two infant deaths is enacted they will defy it.
During the ritual, called metzitzah bâpeh, a mohel removes the foreskin and uses his mouth to stop the bleeding. At least 11 New York infants are thought to have contracted herpes from the practice, two of whom died and two of whom have irreversible brain damage, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
But rabbis insist 5,000-year-old ritual is safe, and say they refuse to tell parents there are any health risks.
âThis is the government forcing a rabbi practicing a religious ritual to tell his congregants it could hurt their child,â said Rabbi David Niederman, executive director of the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg. âIf, God forbid, there was a danger, we would be the first to stop the practice.â
Niederman said the research linking metzitzah bâpeh to infant deaths is âfull of holes,â adding that the ritual is performed safely âtens of thousands of times a yearâ worldwide, and that babies who arenât circumcised can also acquire herpes shortly after birth.
âWe are convinced that the data is flawed and thereâs no risk whatsoever,â he said, adding that âsafeguarding the life of an infantâ is one of the Torahâs most important principles.
Most modern mohels remove the blood with a sterile pipette. But about two-thirds of boys born in New York Cityâs Hasidic communities, who are ultra-Orthodox, are circumcised in the oral suction manner, Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel of America, told ABC News in March.
The Department of Health argues parents should be informed of the risks before making a decision. Since 2004, it has received âmultiple complaints from parents who were not aware that direct oral suction was going to be performed as part of their sonsâ circumcisions,â according to a public notice.
The law would require mohels to explain the oral suction procedure and its risks, including the possible transmission of herpes simplex virus, and have parents sign a waiver.
Niederman said the government should âdo what they feel is rightâ and advise against the ritual if they think thereâs a risk.
âBut donât put it on the mohel,â he said. âDonât force parents to sign something that is against their religious beliefs.â
The cityâs Health Department is scheduled to vote on the proposed law Sept. 13. But Niederman worries a vote to enact the law would force rabbis, who are âamong the most law-abiding citizens,â to put their religious beliefs first.
âWhen it comes to the law, we are all there â" itâs our obligation, according to our religion. But not when the law goes against our religion,â he said.
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