The German Medical Association condemned the ruling for potentially putting children at risk by taking the procedure out of the hands of doctors, but it also warned surgeons not to perform circumcisions for religious reasons until legal clarity was established.
A German doctor has now filed charges against a rabbi for performing circumcisions on two infant boys, causing outrage in Jewish and Muslim communities and a delicate debate about intolerance, religious freedom and children's rights in Germany.
Fearing prosecution, doctors across Germany stopped performing circumcisions even though the Cologne ruling was not binding for the rest of the country.
Dr. Kevin M. De Cock, who heads the World Health Organization's H.I.V./AIDS department, said performing circumcisions on a large scale was no simple task for overstretched health care systems in southern African countries, where the approach was most needed.
Objective. To implement a pilot training program on neonatal circumcisions for pediatric residents in a residency training program, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in improving knowledge and skills in performing circumcisions.
Dr. Mark Rubenstein, a retired pediatrician in Walnut Creek who has performed circumcisions on Jews and non-Jews for 49 years, said even Jewish parents who eat pork, work on the Sabbath and celebrate Christmas will circumcise their children.
He has performed circumcisions in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, in a bar on Third Avenue for a family that lived in an apartment above and in a nightclub.
Even in some places where it is illegal, medical personnel perform circumcisions in government hospitals.
Select one who is experienced, medically licensed, and certified to perform circumcisions.
Some hospitals will not perform circumcisions on adults unless there is a medical reason.
