• For an hour yesterday, the judges heard arguments in a child custody dispute between James Boldt, who wants his son circumcised as part of the son's conversion to Judaism, and the child's mother, Lia Boldt, who went to court to block the procedure. The child, who was 9 at the time the issue arose in 2004, is now 12.

  • "More people get hurt playing football than from having a circumcision and a lot more seriously," Judge Gillette said. He said family court disputes over going out for football were a "necessary consequence" of the mother's position. "That's preposterous. I hope you recognize that cannot work," the judge said.

  • Mr. Patrick said that, even though the father had full custody of the child, the mother was entitled to a court hearing because, based on her review of information about circumcision, the practice amounts to "sex abuse or physical abuse."

  • However, Mrs. Boldt said her son told her that he did not want to be circumcised and was afraid to contradict his father. Some of the justices asked whether the courts should take the child's views into account, either when he was 9 or at age 12.

  • "The child's wishes, while of course they should be considered, are not legally decisive or, legally speaking, relevant," Mr. Boldt, who is a lawyer and has represented himself in the legal proceedings, said.

  • Four Jewish groups, the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Orthodox Union, filed an amicus brief backing Mr. Boldt. A physicians' group, Doctors Opposing Circumcision, filed a brief supporting Mrs. Boldt.

full article - November 7, 2007 New Yok Sun:

http://www.nysun.com/national/ore-court-mulls-circumcision-case/65997/

edit - link below provided by naive1000

  • Two years later, when Mischa was 14-years-old, his rights were honored. On April 22, in the remand hearing in Jackson County, Oregon, the boy privately testified in the judge’s chambers with neither of his parents allowed to be present. Misha told the judge that he did NOT want to be circumcised and did NOT want to be Jewish.

http://ecochildsplay.com/2011/02/14/oregon-supreme-court-protected-12-year-old-boy-from-religious-circumcision/