It's not obviously nonsense to me. A more libertarian approach would
permit the operation with the child's consent, though the current legal
framework holds that people under 18 can't consent to anything.
[mailto:lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Rob Power
of course asking a day old baby boy for permission to do a circumcision would
not get too far... with the kid saying something like ... you want to do
WHAT!!!!!
Ron Getty
That's what I mean. It's not obviously nonsense to me to prohibit the
operation in such a case.
[mailto:lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ron Getty
As a former pro-lifer myself who was talked by Libertarians into
understanding that government is no good at stopping abortions, but rather
succeeds only in invading privacy in that pursuit, I just can't see any
reason to come to a different conclusion here. To misquote Harry Browne, if
the government's war on circumcision is as effective as its wars on drugs
and poverty, soon women will be getting circumcisions.
Jews circumcised their babies in the bad old days of Europe when everyone
showing up to a bris could be jailed or worse. I doubt San Francisco's new
misdemeanor will stop them, but I'm sure it will go a long way toward
increasing the number if government busybodies patrolling the maternity
wards, day cares, and nursery schools. I'm sure doctors will be pressed
into reporting families who violate the law, at which point the families
will have to prove they got the procedure done outside of the jurisdiction
to avoid the fines or jail time.
The only way to stop circumcision is through education. Government should
have no part of it. Laws that everyone knows are ineffective, but are
passed anyway "to send a message" are just simply wrong, because liberties
like privacy are lost without any reasonable gain in return. I'm absolutely
floored that such a pro-abortion electorate (presumably on the basis of
privacy) would even consider such a law. It just shows how rare it is to
find philosophical consistency outside of the LP.
Tonsils? Immunization shots? Cross-eye correction? Forced education? Forced socialization? Wait till the kid is 18 for all this? However, I believe female genital mutilation is already banned, so this ban might sound reasonable to the folks that signed the petition.
Marcy
Excellent argument; as an anarchist, I would agree that government
should have no part of it. In a libertarian society, I assume someone
who had been circumcised at birth could bring a claim against his
parents and the doctor, and this might serve as a sufficient constraint.
[mailto:lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Rob Power