I would suggest this needs to be looked at on purely medical grounds. i find it unacceptable for someone to say - god told me to do this or - god told my great grandparents to do this and it's now a tradition. - Winckel

And just in the past days, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended circumcision for medical reasons. But to close your eyes to the impact the German court decision has on Jews and Muslims in the country (and merely say "the independent court decided so") is to ignore the situation 70 years ago, as well as freedom of religion as a whole. No other country in the world has taken this drastic step. It should be left to the parents to decide, no government intervention is needed. - Nils Sandin

yes, I saw the AAP report; I don't quite see how freedom of religion would allow parents to abuse kids though, so if this constituted abuse - and courts and government would need to consider that - then it seems to me it falls well within the remit of a consitutional democratically elected government. I have the sense that freedom of religion is used to cover all manner of ills. I think one of the issues with "ritual" circumstance is that there is often a lack of anesthetic - that seems odd and wrong and surely a matter for genuine doctors to opine on rather than religious zealots. - Winckel