Friends of the Court, Foes of Human Rights
from DovBear et al by Enigma 4U
An interesting custody battle is going to be decided by the Oregon Supreme Court later this fall. The case involves a divorced father who recently converted to Judaism, and wants his 12-year-old son to undergo circumcision. The mother, a non-Jew, is against it.I've been following this story since I have an affinity for foreskins, and because this case touches upon basic constitutional rights. The father's argument makes little sense to me. How can one's freedom of religion overrule a child's right to his own body? I hope reason and sensibility will prevail, and the Supreme Court will decide this case based on this young boy's wishes, when he's old enough to decide this for himself, and not based on anybody else's agenda.But of course, not everyone sees things as I do. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America has joined with other Jewish organizations in filing a "friend of the court" brief with the Oregon State Supreme Court urging the court to allow the father, James Boldt, to complete the conversion of his son Mikhail to Judaism by having him circumcised.To these organizations I say, "Phooey! Shame on you for pushing your agenda when it clearly infringes on a minor's basic rights."Would the OU or the Anti-Defamation League defend Muslim parents wishing to circumcise their daughters? Is maiming a minor child against his mother's wishes the Torah-true way? The hypocrisy of these special-interest groups cuts like a knife.P.S. Mazel Tov to my good friend, M., who will shortly be bringing his son into the covenant of Abraham and Ismail ;-)
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1 comment:
I agree with DovBear that the child should not be circumcised. However, my reasoning behind this decision differs from his.
DovBear raises the issue between freedom of religion and the sanctity of one's own body. However I believe the real question here is the age of the child. A child, 12-years-old, is at a point in their life where they can make their own decisions with regards to certain aspects of their lives. In fact, in Judaism in only one more year this child would be bar-mitzvahed and as such, would become an adult.
In my opinion, because of this, the child should have the ultimate say with regards to his own circumcision, because in less than a year he is already expected to make his own decisions.
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