Just take a little off the top, please…
You may recall Dr. J. writing in a few months back, here, here, and here.
By way of review, Lloyd Schofield petitioned to get a vote to ban male circumcision on the 2011 election day ballot in San Francisco. At that point, we were all left hanging until election day to see how the story would be resolved.
In the interval there was an Anti-Semitic comic published on behalf of the circumcision ban in which ‘Foreskin Man,’ a rather Aryan superhero does battle with a blood-thirsty ‘Monster Mohel.” Dr. J. found the propaganda horribly offensive to his delicate sensibilities. Dr. J. would take you an International Business Times article, but it can be found easily, and Dr. J. doesn’t like to link to anti-Semitic imagery, as he is about as pro-Semitic as Goy can be.
Now that you’re up to date on the issues…>THUD!<
That is the sound of the other shoe dropping. Judge Loretta M. Giorgi’s shoe, that is…
The LA Times reports that Judge Giorgi, of SF County Superior Court ordered the measure struck from the ballot.
There were two reasons for this. First is that only the state can regulate medical procedures, and male circumcision is ‘widely practiced.’ Second is that the ban would violate freedom of religion because Muslims and Jews practice circumcision as part of their religious tenants.
Mr. Schofield reacted thus: “This to us is an extraordinarily preemptive and expensive action before the citizens of San Francisco even got to vote.” We shall see if he appeals…and how that turns out.
Dr. J. gives kudos to Judge Giorgi for making the right decision. Male Circumcision has clear medical benefits that are at least at equipoise with leaving the foreskin intact. Dr. J. believes that there is a little more benefit to male circumcision in infancy than not, but respects the opinions of those who choose otherwise for their sons. This is why the American Association of Pediatrics has remained neutral on the practice above and beyond for religious reasons. This is a victory for the doctor-patient relationship, parental rights and religious freedom, and in California, no less!
