...Case could open floodgates for a new wave
of ‘male genital mutilation’ complaints
By
Lois Rogers: A British GP is to be prosecuted by an outraged mother for assault after circumcising her baby boy without her consent.
It
is the first time legal aid has supported such an action and, if
successful, campaigners claim the case could open the floodgates for a
new wave of ‘male genital mutilation’ complaints from men who say they
were subjected to the procedure as children, before they could decide
for themselves.
The operation took place when the baby, whose parents are separated, was taken to visit his father’s family.
The doctor involved, Balvinder Mehat of
Bakersfield Medical Centre in Nottingham, is alleged to have carried out
the procedure before the baby was returned to his 26-year-old mother
later the same day.
‘When my baby was
brought back to me he was obviously in pain,’ said the mother, who is
taking out a private prosecution against Dr Mehat.
‘He
was screaming and crying, but trying to comfort him just disturbed the
wound and made it worse. I could not believe what they had done to him.
‘He has been mutilated and suffered permanent damage.’
The mother, who lives in Nottingham,
complained to the police and the doctors’ disciplinary body, the General
Medical Council (GMC), after the operation in July 2013.
A
spokesman for Nottinghamshire police said last week they had concluded
there was insufficient evidence for a successful prosecution, while the
GMC said that it could not comment on its investigation.
In
recent years, doctors’ groups in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Holland,
Iceland and Australia have spoken out against circumcision, while last
December the Danish Medical Association declared that it should not be
carried out on boys under 18 who could not give informed consent.
The assault claim is being pursued by
human rights lawyer Saimo Chahal QC. He represented Briton Michael
Sandford, recently released from jail after trying to grab a policeman’s
gun to shoot Donald Trump at a Las Vegas rally in June.
Mr
Chahal said: ‘This mother clearly did not consent to her son undergoing
the circumcision procedure, which could constitute a criminal offence.
‘While
some people with religious beliefs see circumcision as normal, there
are others who see it as an unnecessary assault which can be physically
and psychologically harmful.’
Tim
Alford of the pressure group Men Do Complain, which is supporting the
woman’s case, says there is a growing backlash against the ‘male genital
mutilation’ involved in circumcision.
John
Warren, 74, a retired physician from Harlow, Essex, who has been
campaigning against child circumcision for 20 years, said: ‘A lot of men
say they feel mutilated.’
David Smith
of pressure group Genital Autonomy, which also represents angry
circumcised men, added: ‘We’re hoping the case will open the floodgates
for other complaints and a clarification that circumcision of
non-consenting children is a human rights abuse.’
The
British Medical Association says that it is revising its ethical
guidelines on circumcision, which currently say: ‘It is for society to
decide what limits should be imposed on parental choice.’ The new
document is expected to be published sometime in the next year.
Dr Balvinder Mehat declined to comment.
It
is the first time legal aid has supported such an action and, if
successful, campaigners claim the case could open the floodgates for a
new wave of ‘male genital mutilation’ complaints from men who say they
were subjected to the procedure as children, before they could decide
for themselves.
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