• Denmark's news in English
 
jobs_header_v3
Danish doctors come out against circumcision
Male circumcision is legal but rare in Denmark. Photo: Colourbox

Danish doctors come out against circumcision

The Local · 5 Dec 2016, 13:08

Published: 05 Dec 2016 13:08 GMT+01:00

Facebook Twitter Google+ reddit
The association released its recommendation on Friday, saying that circumcision should be “an informed, personal choice” that young men should make for themselves.
 
In a press release, the group said that when parents have their male children circumcised, it robs the boys of the ability to make decisions about their own bodies and their own cultural and religious beliefs. 
 
“To be circumcised should be an informed, personal choice. It is most consistent with the individual’s right to self-determination that parents not be allowed to make this decision but that it is left up to the individual when he has come of age,” Lise Møller, the chairwoman of the doctors’ association’s ethics board, said. 
 
Lægeforeningen said that male circumcision carries a risk of complications and should only be performed on children when there is a documented medical need. 
 
In making its recommendation, the doctors’ association stopped short of calling for a legal ban on male circumcision, which is legal but relatively rare in Denmark.
 
“We have discussed it thoroughly, also in our ethics committee. We came to the conclusion that it is difficult to predict the consequences of a ban – both for the involved boys, who could for example face bullying or unauthorized procedures with complications – and for the cultural and religious groups they belong to,” Møller said. 
 
The Danish Health and Medicines Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen) estimates that somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 circumcisions are performed in Denmark each year, primarily on Jewish and Muslim boys. 
 
The majority of those procedures occur outside of the public health system and are done in religious ceremonies in the child's home or at private clinics.
 
There are thought to be an unknown number of circumcisions carried out each year that are not reported. Last year it was revealed that the State Serum Institute (SSI) had kept a database of circumcisions for 19 months despite never receiving legal authority to do so from the Danish Data Protection Agency (Datatilsynet). 
 
That illegally-kept database was deleted in August 2015 but the Health Ministry announced on Monday that beginning in 2017 all circumcisions, regardless of where they take place, will need to be reported to Denmark's national patient registry (Landspatientregistret).
 
According to a major 2007 study by the World Health Organization, roughly 30 percent of the global male population is circumcised. Of those, roughly two thirds are practising Muslims, while 0.8 percent are Jews. 
 
Male circumcision regularly pops up as the subject of debate in Denmark and polls have shown that upwards of 87 percent of Danes have expressed support for banning the practise on boys under the age of 18. 
 
Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is illegal in Denmark.

For more news from Denmark, join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook Twitter Google+ reddit


Your comments about this article

Today's headlines
Video
Viking gold discovered in Denmark – on live TV
The new find was made in the same field that yielded these seven bracelets over the summer. Photo: Nick Schaadt, Museet på Sønderskov

1,100-year-old bracelet pulled out of the ground in front of rolling cameras.

Danish doctors come out against circumcision
Male circumcision is legal but rare in Denmark. Photo: Colourbox

The Danish Medical Association (Lægeforeningen) has recommended that no boys under the age of 18 be circumcised in Denmark.

Denmark drops plans to send migrants to Hungary
File photo of refugees on a Danish motorway in September 2015. Photo: Claus Fisker/Scanpix

Around 350 asylum seekers who were told they'd be sent back to Hungary will now have their cases processed in Denmark.

Denmark has the happiest young workers in the world
Work-life balance was considered a "top-driver" of employee happiness. Photo: Tuala Hjarnø/Copenhagen Media Center

At least according to a new ‘Global Workforce Happiness Index’.

Denmark to pull fighter jets out of Syria and Iraq
Former Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen sits in one of the fighter jets in Turkey earlier this year. Photo: Heine Pedersen/Scanpix

UPDATED: Denmark will take its four F-16 fighter jets out of the battle against the terror group Isis.

Ten tips to make moving house less stressful
Moving's hard, don't let it get the best of you. Photo: Iris

Relocation expert Melanie Haynes on how to get through one of the most stressful life events of all: moving to a new home.

Danish prosecutors to take on Uber
An Uber spokesperson told The Local that the app would continue to operate in Denmark. Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters/Scanpix

Following a High Court decision against an Uber driver, Denmark's top prosecuting body is now going directly after the ridesharing company.

EU on track to meet 2020 target for renewable energy
Wind turbines in the Greater Copenhagen area. Photo: Kasper Palsnov/Scanpix

Goals for the use of renewable sources and cuts in consumption are both "well within reach".

Maersk Line to buy German container shipping company
Shipping containers belonging to Hamburg Sud and Maersk companies are seen stacked at La Guaira port in Venezuela. Photo: Marco Bello/Scanpix

The container shipping unit of Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Thursday it had agreed to buy German peer Hamburg Sud, as the industry consolidates amid a downturn.

Video
Danish People's Party signals support for leaving EU
DF's Peter Skaarup and Søren Espersen met with Nigel Farage in Copenhagen on Wednesday. Photo: Ólafur Steinar Gestsson/Scanpix

Top party brass met with Nigel Farage, who said it is only "a question of time" before Denmark follows the UK's lead.

Sponsored Article
'Learning to trade gave me the life I wanted'
Here is Denmark's new coalition government
Politics
Here is Denmark's new coalition government
Sponsored Article
Marianne Vikkula: the unlikely Nordic startup star
Danish editor jailed in nation's 'largest ever media scandal
Culture
Danish editor jailed in nation's 'largest ever media scandal'
Nine (cynical) reasons I left London for Copenhagen
Lifestyle
Nine (cynical) reasons I left London for Copenhagen
Sponsored Article
Terje Håkonsen: 'I try to make everything count'
Here’s what Denmark’s new budget means for foreigners
National
Here’s what Denmark’s new budget means for foreigners
Sponsored Article
Katrin Ottarsdóttir: 'Loneliness gives me strength'
Danish PM invites support parties into government
Politics
Danish PM invites support parties into government
Denmark now hopeful that Europol deal can be reached
International
Denmark now hopeful that Europol deal can be reached
Denmark extends border controls into 2017
National
Denmark extends border controls into 2017
Sponsored Article
Mette Helbæk: ‘We have a basic human need to connect'
Lego drops Daily Mail over accusations of 'hatred'
Business & Money
Lego drops Daily Mail over accusations of 'hatred'
Sponsored Article
Michael Björklund: 'Being a chef is crazy work'
International
Expats react to Trump: 'We have a very damaged society in the US'
Denmark approves medical cannabis trial
Health
Denmark approves medical cannabis trial
Three of four Danes: Trump would be ‘terrible’ president
International
Three of four Danes: Trump would be ‘terrible’ president
Election threats force Danish PM to delay grand vision
Politics
Election threats force Danish PM to delay grand vision
Denmark had another year of record low crime
National
Denmark had another year of record low crime
Denmark to get new Hans Christian Andersen Museum
Culture
Denmark to get new Hans Christian Andersen Museum
Danish populists hammered by EU expense scandal
Politics
Danish populists hammered by EU expense scandal
Danish experts warn of 'hygge-junkie' health risk
Health
Danish experts warn of 'hygge-junkie' health risk
Danish tabloid pulls 'racist' migrant sex kidnap post
Danish tabloid pulls 'racist' migrant sex kidnap post
Danish security agency files charges against former boss
National
Danish security agency files charges against former director
Danish nationalist charged with racism for 'refugee spray'
Society
Danish nationalist charged with racism for 'refugee spray'
Queen Margrethe: Denmark 'not a multicultural country'
Society
Queen Margrethe: Denmark 'not a multicultural country'
Danish experts: Grunting doesn't help you poop
Health
Danish experts: Grunting doesn't help you poop
2,208
jobs available