New York City Kept Silent On Dangers Of Circumcision Rite For Years
Image by Getty Images
By Dave Goldiner April 10, 2017
New York City knew of the dangers of a controversial circumcision rite for six years before warning Jewish parents, the Daily News reported.
The health department was first notified in 1999 of an infant being sickened by the practice known as metzizah b’peh, in which the mohel orally sucks blood from the infant’s penis.
Six cases in all of neonatal herpes believed to be related to the practice were reported by doctors to the city, even though there was no requirement at the time for doctors to report cases.
It took until a Hasidic baby died in 2005 for the city to issue an alert and warn Jewish parents about the dangers of the practice.
Health Department spokesman Chris Miller said he was unsure when the alerts started.
“You’re talking about two decades and two administrations ago,” Miller told the News.
After the baby’s death, the Michael Bloomberg mayoral administration issued regulations ordering parents to sign consent forms for the practice.
Mayor Bill De Blasio took a more lenient stance. He now says mohels found to have infected infants will be barred from the practice.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
