Posted by Bob Janova at 4:06pm Jun 6 '11... and particularly when we don't have any other ritual surgery on children too young to do anything about it. I can definitely understand wanting to ban it ... just think the other way around, what if a group wanted to start removing their children's toenails for no reason other than tradition? I don't think many people would back that.
When religious practices go fundamentally against the ethical basis of a country, they shouldn't get an exception. (We don't allow religious groups to exempt themselves from laws and run things by their own â for example the Hindu sacred cow that had to be slaughtered because of TB.) The question is whether chopping bits off a child when it hasn't consented to it is against our principles, and I think if you posit the idea of proposing it for other minor body parts you will see that it is, at least arguably.
This is particularly true when countries are banning spanking, and people on here have argued that it should never be used. If a temporary and minor bit of pain is assault, then surely a permanent mutilation shouldn't be allowed?
When religious practices go fundamentally against the ethical basis of a country, they shouldn't get an exception. (We don't allow religious groups to exempt themselves from laws and run things by their own â for example the Hindu sacred cow that had to be slaughtered because of TB.) The question is whether chopping bits off a child when it hasn't consented to it is against our principles, and I think if you posit the idea of proposing it for other minor body parts you will see that it is, at least arguably.
This is particularly true when countries are banning spanking, and people on here have argued that it should never be used. If a temporary and minor bit of pain is assault, then surely a permanent mutilation shouldn't be allowed?
It's always seemed an odd practice - Bob Janova