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De Blasio Struggles To Negotiate Snip-N-Suck Circumcision Regulation
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 22, 2015
Modified Feb 22, 2015
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 22, 2015
Modified Feb 22, 2015
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How many babies need to be unnecessarily infected with (and/or die because of) herpes before the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community will finally allow some form of regulation on the "metzitzah b’peh" circumcision ritual? At least 17 babies in NYC have been infected since 2000, and at least two have died because of it—and still, the ultra-Orthodox community refuses to budge on even the most benign attempts at informing the public of the safety risks.
The AP reports today that the de Blasio administration has been struggling to negotiate with various rabbis over how to protect children's health while still preserving religious freedom. "The talks are ongoing but I cannot go into particulars," Avi Fink, the mayor's deputy director of intergovernmental affairs who has been leading the talks, told the AP. "Our goal is to achieve awareness of the risks."
The "metzitzah b’peh" ritual is the circumcision practice in which a mohel sucks the blood from a freshly snipped foreskin of a baby boy. Under the Bloomberg administration, the Board Of Health ruled that "parents need to be aware of the opinion of experts," and unanimously approved circumcision consent forms that require Orthodox Jewish parents to sign a waiver before their infant can undergo. The City was sued by Jewish groups who claimed their First Amendment rights were violated.
More importantly, most mohels seemed to ignore the decree, and the City didn't bother enforcing the regulation.
When he was running for office, de Blasio initially criticized the administration for not reaching out to the community, but did not promise to dispose of them. He later used the forms as a way to pander to Jewish voters and further separate himself from Bloomberg, saying, "I would start over and change the policy to find a way to protect all of our children but also respect religious tradition."
Members of the Anronite sect of Satmars endorsed de Blasio as a result, noting that "he's the only candidate who recommitted himself now to guarantee that we as Orthodox Jews can practice the metzitzah b’peh without compromise."
But in the year since de Blasio took office, talks over what that new policy might be have stalled. The Daily News reported this month that the administration wants to trade the written forms for a verbal warning to parents about the dangers. As the AP notes:
A 2012 report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised against the practice, saying it increases the risk of herpes infection in baby boys by 3.4 times that of other male newborns.
The News wrote about what was causing the delay in reaching the agreement:
A small group of leading rabbis has held many meetings to discuss the proposed changes, according to multiple sources. The rabbis are vehemently against any agreement that hampers religious freedom, and many have questioned the scientific evidence.
Failed Messiah reports it's even worse than that, saying the ultra-Orthodox rabbis have "vociferously opposed" informed consent: "It wants no restrictions on circumcision at all - not even a simple verbal warning pointing out the danger of transmitting herpes and other communicable diseases to babies whose immune systems are so new and undeveloped, a herpes infection can kill them or maim them for life."
Rockland County has introduced one possible compromise: if any baby is infected with herpes after the ritual, the mohel will be DNA tested. If it's positive, the mohel can be banned for life from performing the procedure.
Tagged
bris
circumcision
de Blasio
herpes
metzitzah bpeh
oral suction
orthodox jews
snip-n-suck
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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