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As you may have heard by now, San Francisco will be voting this November on whether or not to ban circumcision in the city. Defenders of the measure say it’s all about “human rights” and “protecting babies” from unnecessary procedures. But critics suspected there was something vaguely anti-Semitic about the whole proposal, since among Jews (and Muslims, as well) circumcising male babies is a religious duty, not just a mistaken medical procedure. Ban proponents insisted their proposal had nothing to do with Jews — really, it’s all about the rights of children. Well, any doubt that they were lying have...

Last week I posted on a clearly antisemitic piece of legislation in San Francisco and Santa Monica banning the Jewish religious tradition of circumcision. Judenrein in Sunny Southern California: Banning Male Circumcision. America, this is getting very, very ugly. Male circumcision is significantly healthier with or without the important religious significance. The Islamic practice of female genital mutilation (cutting off the clitoris) is sick misogyny. To equate the two is officially legislating Jew-hatred. Any doubt this was motivated by hatred and racism? Zombie over at PJM: Proof that S.F.’s circumcision ban is anti-Semitic As you may have heard by now,...

In 2010, San Francisco supervisors banned Happy Meals. They showed no regard for parental choice. So it should not come as a shock that activists have managed to put a measure on the November ballot that essentially would outlaw the circumcision of baby boys. If it passes, parents won't be able to choose to circumcise their infant sons. The penalty for the "genital cutting of male minors" will be a $1,000 fine and/or up to a year in jail. The ballot measure bills itself as a ban on "forced genital cutting" and "mutilation." Clearly, the authors want to confuse voters...

I've been wondering if the folks behind the circumcision ballot measure in San Francisco -- the subject of my most recent column -- are anti-Semites. Here's a clue. The mgmbill.org web site links to this site.

ON THE BALLOT in San Francisco this fall will be a proposal making it a crime to circumcise male children. If the measure passes, anyone convicted of circumcising a baby boy could be fined up to $1,000 and sentenced to a year in prison. Even for San Francisco, this is madness. The circumcising of newborn boys is perhaps the most familiar type of surgery in the United States. According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, US hospitals perform the procedure more than 1.2 million times each year. While there are wide variations by ethnicity and region, and...

It's a personal story, but let it also serve as a public health rebuttal to the proposed ban on male circumcision that will be on the San Francisco ballot this November. San Francisco's ballot initiative would prohibit circumcision on all males under the age of 18. It would allow no religious exemptions, and it apparently gives no regard to the numerous studies demonstrating that male circumcision can substantially reduce—by more than 50%—the transmission of the HIV virus during sex. "Communities, and especially women, may benefit much more from circumcision interventions than had previously been predicted, and these results provide an...

"Five young boys in the nude, a police line-up so that you can identify his tallywhacker. Please, please can we call it a "tallywhacker"? Penis is so ppp... penis is so personal."  ---Principal Carter from “Porky’s.” The most recent episode of “South Park” featured the characters obsessed on the subject of penis. It was funny but I thought it was a bit over the top....until I read a news story about a San Francisco circumcision ban ballot initiative shortly after the show aired:SAN FRANCISCO — A proposal to ban the circumcision of male children in San Francisco has been cleared to...

A group seeking to ban the circumcision of male children in San Francisco has succeeded in getting their controversial measure on the November ballot, meaning voters will be asked to weigh in on what until now has been a private family matter. City elections officials confirmed Wednesday that the initiative had received enough signatures to appear on the ballot, getting more than 7,700 valid signatures from city residents. Initiatives must receive at least 7,168 signatures to qualify. If the measure passes, circumcision would be prohibited among males under the age of 18. The practice would become a misdemeanor offense punishable...

SAN FRANCISCO -- In November, San Francisco voters will be asked to weigh in on what was until now a private family matter: male circumcision. City elections officials confirmed Wednesday that an initiative that would ban the circumcision of males younger than 18 in San Francisco has received enough signatures to appear on the ballot. The practice would become a misdemeanor.

San Francisco voters in November will be asked to weigh in on what was until now a private family matter: male circumcision. City elections officials confirmed Wednesday that an initiative that would ban the circumcision of males younger than 18 in San Francisco has received enough signatures to appear on the ballot. The practice would become a misdemeanor. Supporters of the ban say male circumcision is a form of genital mutilation that should not be forced on a young child. But opponents say such claims are alarmingly misleading, and call the proposal a clear violation of constitutionally protected religious freedoms.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Officials say hundreds of boys in a Philippine city have turned out for a daylong "circumcision party." The event in Marikina city east of Manila aims to promote safe circumcision in a region where the surgery is sometimes performed by non-doctors using crude methods.

The practice of infant circumcision, which carries particular religious significance for Jews, may be outlawed later this year in San Fransisco. A ballot initiative is underway which would ask voters whether to prohibit the practice in November. The proposed new law would make it a misdemeanor to circumcise a person before they are 18-years-old."We don't come at this from a religious angle," Lloyd Schofield told the San Francisco Examiner. "We feel this is a very harmful thing. Parents are guardians. They are not owners of children. It's a felony to tattoo a child." The effort is being taken seriously in...

With all the trouble in the world they're worried about what? Some in San Francisco want to Ban Male Circumcision They are pushing for vote on the matter this fall. Supporters of the law call circumcision 'Male Genital Mutilation' - and they want it banned. They want to make it: "...Unlawful to circumcise, excise, cut, or mutilate the whole or any part of the foreskin, testicles, or penis" of anyone 17 or younger in San Francisco..."

Somewhere in the vast wastelands of the internet there must be a blog which does nothing but monitor the denizens of San Francisco, 24 x 7, to keep track of all the mind boggling things that go on there. If such a portal already exists, I’m sure they’ll be all over this story in no time at all. San Francisco may vote on banning male circumcisionSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A group opposed to male circumcision said on Tuesday they have collected more than enough signatures to qualify a proposal to ban the practice in San Francisco as a ballot measure...

Self-described "civil rights advocates" say that a ballot proposition to ban circumcision is on track for gathering signatures, meaning that San Franciscans may vote on the measure this November. The proposed law is being spearheaded by local resident Lloyd Schofield, according to the San Francisco Examiner. It's part of a national push to end the procedure, which some say is steeped in tradition but poses risks and has little medical benefit. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association do not recommend routine circumcision. Getting on the ballot is the easy part -- only about 7,000 signatures are...

An Israeli organization is training local doctors all over Africa to circumcise adult men in order to reduce the spread of HIV/Aids on the continent. Operation Abraham Collaboration (OAC) recently sent nine Israeli doctors to South Africa, the country with the largest population living with HIV/Aids with over 5 million infected, to train doctors to perform the delicate procedure. The World Health Organization has declared that circumcision is an “additional, important intervention’ in the campaign against the spread of the HIV/AIDS. The results are based on clinical trials performed in Africa that found a sixty percent lower occurrence of the...

It's not every day we phone an average San Francisco resident to ask about foreskin. In fact, it's no day. Ever. Until now. But Lloyd Schofield's used to such calls because he's collecting signatures to get a circumcision ban on the city ballot in November 2011. "Someone else told me they were calling me at 11 o'clock for an interview," he said. "I might have to - I hate to say it - cut you short." We love it when interview subjects make our jokes for us! Schofield's ordinance would outlaw the procedure throughout San Francisco, even for religious reasons....

The Board of Supervisors just banned toys in Happy Meals, which drew worldwide attention.Now the latest ban being proposed in San Francisco is on male circumcision.A proposed ballot measure for the November 2011 ballot – when voters will be electing the San Francisco’s next mayor – would amend The City’s police code “to make it a misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the foreskin, testicle or penis of another person who has not attained the age of 18.” Doing so would result in a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in jail, according to the...

the measure would change San Francisco's police code “to make it a misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the foreskin, testicle or penis of another person under the age of 18......... Lloyd Schofield, San Francisco resident is proposing a ballot measure that would ban circumcision in the City, according to the San Francisco Examiner. If passed in November 2011, the measure would change San Francisco's police code “to make it a misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the foreskin, testicle or penis of another person under the age of 18.” The punishment up to a $1,000 fine and...

Apostle Paul made a minister to the Gentiles for the grace of God, just as the Apostle Peter was made a minister to the circumcision.