Left to right: Dr Alejandro Sanchez, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE, Dr Antony Lempert, Hifsa Haroon-Iqbal OBE
The National Secular Society has called for boys to be protected from ritual circumcision at a debate in central London.
The debate was co-hosted by the NSS and Debate London, and took place at St Bride’s Church on Tuesday. Over 100 guests attended. The motion was “boys should not be ritually circumcised”.
Proposing the motion, NSS council member Dr Antony Lempert said circumcision is a “child safeguarding anomaly” that confused a “laudable tolerance for different beliefs” with an “inappropriate deference to the unrestricted expression of those beliefs”.
He said performing an irreversible surgery on people too young to form an opinion is “the antithesis of freedom of religion and belief”.
Opposing the motion, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE argued that circumcision is a parent’s human right and that it should be regulated but not deferred. He said circumcision would have been abandoned as a practice if parents thought it were harmful.
NSS human rights lead Dr Alejandro Sanchez said the current legal arrangement on ritual circumcision is “endangering the lives of children”, and argued “the most vulnerable should be afforded the greatest protections”.
Regulation would not address the human rights issues at the heart of the practice, he claimed.
Hifsa Haroon-Iqbal OBE, director of political engagement at the Association of British Muslims, argued circumcision was fundamental to religious identity and defended it on the basis of claimed health benefits.
Members of the audience put questions to both sides of the debate. A campaigner against female genital mutilation (FGM) asked why ritual circumcision is permissible when less invasive forms of FGM are not.
A psychotherapist who works with men who feel harmed by circumcision asked the opposition what they would say to her clients.
NSS: ‘We’ll keep working to safeguard children and uphold their rights’
NSS human rights lead Dr Alejandro Sanchez said: “We’re grateful to the opposition and the audience and for taking part in this debate, which allowed for a robust, and largely respectful, exchange of views.
“We’ll keep working to safeguard children and uphold their rights. That means protecting boys from ritual circumcision until they are old enough to decide for themselves.”