Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Opponents sue to stop anti-circumcision vote

Los Angeles Times

SAN FRANCISCO – Opponents of a measure that would make it a misdemeanor to circumcise male children in San Francisco filed a lawsuit Wednesday to get the initiative stricken from the November ballot.

The plaintiffs called the measure anti-Semitic, a threat to the religious freedom of Jews and Muslims and an infringement on parental and medical rights. But during a news conference on the steps of City Hall here, attorney Michael Jacobs said the group is suing on the grounds that state law prohibits local governments from restricting medical procedures.

That’s the job of the state Legislature, said Jacobs. He said the California Business and Professions Code contains a “clear” prohibition on “exactly these kinds of ballot measures. … This is not about local control.”

Male circumcision, Jacobs said, is safe, sanctioned, and the most widely done medical procedure in the country.

The measure, which will be on the November ballot here, would prohibit what it calls the “genital cutting of male minors.” Anyone who performed a circumcision would face a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail.