Mum fined in Zurich for circumcising infant son
An expat living in the canton of Zurich was fined 1,350 francs ($1,480) for circumcising her son without getting approval from the child’s father, 20 Minuten newspaper reported online on Monday.
In Zurich, such a surgical procedure is only allowed if both parents agree to it, the newspaper noted.
The 29-year-old mother, originally from West Africa, was convicted for bodily assault for taking her two-and-a-half-year-old son to a pediatric surgery clinic in Fällanden for the operation in March, 20 Minuten said.
According to the results of an investigation, the woman did not follow the advice of her Swiss husband, who was opposed to the foreskin removal procedure.
The woman was handed the fine in a recent court decision, 20 Minuten said.
In addition, she was ordered to pay 700 francs in legal costs.
In the summer of 2012, the Zurich Children’s Hospital imposed a brief ban on religiously-motivated circumcisions following a court ruling in neighbouring Germany.
The ban, imposed in July after a court in Cologne said that circumcision was tantamount to grievous bodily harm, was lifted the following month.
However, the hospital said it would act on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the “wellbeing of the child” and requiring the written consent of parents, according to a report from the ATS news agency.
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In Zurich, such a surgical procedure is only allowed if both parents agree to it, the newspaper noted.
The 29-year-old mother, originally from West Africa, was convicted for bodily assault for taking her two-and-a-half-year-old son to a pediatric surgery clinic in Fällanden for the operation in March, 20 Minuten said.
According to the results of an investigation, the woman did not follow the advice of her Swiss husband, who was opposed to the foreskin removal procedure.
The woman was handed the fine in a recent court decision, 20 Minuten said.
In addition, she was ordered to pay 700 francs in legal costs.
In the summer of 2012, the Zurich Children’s Hospital imposed a brief ban on religiously-motivated circumcisions following a court ruling in neighbouring Germany.
The ban, imposed in July after a court in Cologne said that circumcision was tantamount to grievous bodily harm, was lifted the following month.
However, the hospital said it would act on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the “wellbeing of the child” and requiring the written consent of parents, according to a report from the ATS news agency.
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