Circumcision Ban Makes It To San Francisco Ballot

The Jewish Journal reports that on Wednesday, San Francisco (CA) Department of Elections approved a petition seeking to place a ban on circumcising boys under the age of 18 on the ballot in November. City officials approved as valid over 7,700 of the 12,000 signatures submitted. If approved, circumcision, except for medical reasons, and without any exemption for religion, would become a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1000 fine. (See prior related posting.) Slate has background on the constitutional issues raised by the proposed ordinance.