California Approves Bill Preventing the ban of Circumcision

On September 6, California politicians approved a bill to prevent banning male circumcision in the wake of an attempt in San Francisco made earlier this year and to have the subject of circumcision bans on the November ballot.

The failed attempt at passing the ban was made by MGMbill.org, a group that equates male circumcision to female genital mutilation.

The California state assembly voted to approve the legislation before sending it to Governor, Jerry Brown, for his signature. The Senate approved the measure on August 30.

In July, a California Superior Court judge ruled that an anti-circumcision measure in San Francisco be removed from the ballot because circumcision was considered a medical procedure. Activists in Santa Monica then withdrew an identical proposal.

If the San Francisco attempt was passed, it would have made the act of circumcising a minor a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or a year in jail, with no exemptions for “religious ritual”.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco argued that the measure would restrict parental choice and religious freedom. If the proposed bad had made its way onto a ballot, it would have been a first, according to the ADL.

Male circumcision of newborns fell to 56.9 per cent in 2008 from 62.5 per cent in 1999, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.