A California Senate committee unanimously approved a bill Aug. 23 to block local jurisdictions from banning male circumcision, a debate that evolved from a divisive ballot measure in San Francisco that would have barred the practice for most boys under age 18.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-0 for the bill by two Democratic lawmakers that would declare that circumcision has health, cultural and other benefits, and that uniform statewide rules are needed to govern it and a parent’s authority over whether their children receive it.
“It’s a medical procedure, and it has value,” said Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, co-author of AB768. The bill, he told the committee, would prevent a statewide patchwork of laws governing circumcision.
The legislation comes against a national backdrop of efforts to limit male circumcision, which critics say is an unnecessary surgery to a healthy and defenseless child that can cause long-lasting sexual and mental health problems. — ap