|
|
NEWS
San Francisco: Jewish Community Wages Battle Against Proposed Bris
Ban
By R. Hoffner
The Jewish community in San Francisco is currently battling an effort
to make bris milah illegal. A city resident by the name of
Lloyd Schofield has managed to gather 3,500 signatures — half of
the number he needs to place the issue on the ballot. According to
Schofield and a large group of activists assisting him, who launched
the initiative two months ago, children should not be subject to a
procedure that could harm their health. They claim bris milah
is a "human rights issue" and the infants are denied a say in the
matter.
Schofield, who eagerly draws the attention of the international media
and support from a significant number of doctors and legal experts,
wants violators of the proposed law to face jail time or a $1,000
fine. If he succeeds in getting another 3,500 by the end of April, the
issue will appear on the ballot in the November elections.
Since the law would ban circumcision of all minors, Muslims are siding
with the Jews in opposition to the initiative. The Jewish community is
considering the possibility of forming a joint coalition with Muslims
to halt the proposed ban.
Unlike in Europe, many Christian Americans have male infants undergo
circumcision in the hospital for health reasons. During the 1940s and
50s the circumcision rate reached nearly 80 percent, but today only
about one-third of all male infants are circumcised, according to the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, primarily because in many
states insurance companies stopped covering the procedure.
|
