The second of two recent pieces of sobering news. Apologies for the imperfect Google translation.
Steven Svoboda
Attorneys for the Rights of the Child
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Oslo Boy died after circumcision in Oslo
A two-week-old boy died of complications two days after he was circumcised by a doctor in Oslo.
The circumcision took place at a doctor’s office on Oslo’s eastern edge, and both the police and the county doctor in Oslo are now investigating the case, writes Aftenposten.
The boy was circumcised last Sunday and died two days later. County doctor Petter Schou confirms that the child died of complications after circumcision.
– We have established a formal investigation case against two named doctors, says Schou.
According to him, there have been several audit cases at doctor’s offices in Oslo that have been about circumcision.
Complaints rarely
“These are very difficult issues to investigate because patients rarely complain about circumcision, but we get serious concerns from the hospitals that get these children into treatment later,” he told Aftenposten.
Every year, an estimated 2,000 boys are circumcised in Norway, many of them privately and without professional control.
The Ministry of Health and Care Services is now considering austerity measures to make circumcision safer, but both within the government and within the red-green parties, one disagrees with the view of circumcision of boys. Some will have a ban, while others will offer the intervention in the public health service. A bill has recently been under discussion and many want a ban or age limit.
Prohibition or age limit
Several heavy consultation bodies believe circumcision of boys should be prohibited. Both the Norwegian Medical Association, the Nursing Association, the Children’s Ombudsman, the Human-Ethical Association, the Resource Center for Men and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo end the practice.
Child Ombudsman Reidar Hjermann wants a debate on the lower age limit, but believes that ritual circumcision should be prohibited in children under 15-16 years of age.
Justice spokeswoman in the Center Party, Jenny Klinge, believes ritual circumcision of small boys must be banned in the same way as the circumcision of girls. (© NTB)