Synthet Ban Required in Iceland

MPs in Iceland have proposed legislative changes to prevent male circumcision, a common practice in Jewish and Muslim communities. If it passes, anyone conducting the procedure can be imprisoned for six years.

Members of at least five political parties, including the Progressive Party, the Pirate Party and the Green Left, are calling for changes in the existing Criminal Code. Their proposed legislation says that anyone found guilty of harming a child's health or a woman by “removing the sex organs, entirely or in part, will be imprisoned for six years”.

The draft clearly rejects the notion that the law should accommodate circumcision on religious grounds. And if it is, of course, the parents' right to give their children their instructions when it comes to religion, such a right can never exceed the child's rights”, it says in law.

“Circumcision involves permanent intervention in the body of a child who can cause severe pain, and such an operation involves a risk of infection and other problems“, said further to the proposed extent.

Children can decide for themselves the procedure, once they have reached the age of consent, “to understand what is involved in such an action”. The age of goodwill in Iceland is 15.
Women's circumcision is illegal in Iceland since 2005, however, there have been no laws concerning male circumcision. The male circumcision rate in the country is low, according to Icelandic media, noting that this is probably due to very small Muslim and Jewish communities in the country.