News

Laura MacDonald
(This page does not contain medical advice)

Massachusetts Senators asked to outlaw all forced circumcisions

Tuesday 2nd March 2010
On Tuesday 2nd March, Senators in Massachusetts in the U.S. were presented with a bill which would outlaw non therapeutic genital surgery on any individual who has not given consent.

Peter Adler, a Massachusetts Attorney and one of those who testified, commented that the current double standard as regards male and female genital cutting is 'unconstitutional' and that to circumcise without proper consent is "criminal assault". Adler also drew a parallel with other human rights abuses which once went unchallenged. "We may not prosecute circumcision, but only because it is routine, as were slavery and discrimination against women."

The testimonies of the 17 people who spoke in support of the bill can be found at the MGM bill website.

NORM-UK was delighted to see this step forward for genital autonomy rights. We note that involuntary non-therapeutic circumcision is also a criminal assault in a British context. In cutting through the full thickness of the skin it constitutes a wounding under the Offenses Against the Person Act 1861, and as the damage is deliberate it is also a wilful assault of a child under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.