NYC Health Board Considers Plan To Resolve Dispute Over Oral Suction Circumcision
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — New York City's Board of Health has voted to consider Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to resolve a dispute with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community over a tradition known as oral suction circumcision.
Health officials have linked at least 17 cases of infant herpes and two deaths since 2000 to the ancient ritual of sucking blood from the wounds on infants' penises, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports.
NYC Health Board Considers Plan To Resolve Dispute Over Oral Suction Circumcision
The mayor has said circumcisers should no longer be required to obtain signed consent forms.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration instituted the consent rule.
Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Travis Bassett says the "well-meaning rule" has had a polarizing effect and is difficult to implement.
"In retrospect the current requirement has mandated that education about medical risks of directorial suction be given at the wrong time in the wrong place and by the wrong person," Bassett said.
The administration will ask hospitals, obstetricians and pediatricians to distribute information in both English and Yiddish to "get across what we view as the key points, that people need to be aware of the risks."
Herpes can lead to brain damage or death.
The board will now hold a public comment period.
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