Milah UK has been working to support members of the community in Denmark about a hearing on circumcision that occurred on 22nd October. The hearing was organised by The Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, who are a campaign group based in the Danish Parliament. The debate heard a range of opinions on the subject varying from prominent anti circumcision researcher Morten Frisch to a representative of the Jewish Community.

Interestingly, the Director of the Danish Board of Health said that although the Board determines that there is insufficient evidence to generally recommend circumcision for boys, levels of risk are not high enough to recommend a ban.

The debate comes following a sustained period of focus on circumcision in Denmark. Just two days before the debate a new poll indicated that 74 percent of Denmark’s citizens believe circumcision should be fully or partially banned.

Following the hearing Milah UK released the following statement:

“It is important to be clear that at this stage there is no legislative attack on Milah in Denmark. The Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, which is opposed to circumcision in general, organised a hearing on the subject last week – the network is a group that has a degree of support in the Danish Parliament, and their recent event brought together a wide spectrum of opinions on religious circumcision. Interestingly, in parallel, the Director of the Danish Board of Health was explicit that there was not sufficient risk to justify any form of ban; but nonetheless recent opinion polls have highlighted that there is growing public opposition to religious circumcision in Denmark. We will be continuing to offer our full support to the Danish Jewish community, and providing help and advice on how best to combat attacks on their right to perform Brit Milah”