As seen below in the weekly roundup, San Francisco likes to be the first at things. They were the first city to take on eliminating toys from Happy Meals, and now they are the first city to take on their next target: mohels.
Sort of. Lloyd Schofield, a resident of San Francisco, is proposing to ban circumcision throughout the city. Though the logic behind the proposal has not been fully explored, if the measure were to pass, it would “make it a misdemeanor to circumcise, excise, cut or mutilate the foreskin, testicle or penis of another person who has not attained the age of 18.” I know that there are a fair number of people who think it wrong to induce unnecessary surgery on a person who does not have the ability to consent to it–and our blogger Sarah Tuttle-Singer has thoroughly explored the issue over at Kveller–but if this were to pass, anyone interested in carrying on the Jewish tradition could face a hefty $1,000 fee or up to a year in prison. Oy!
Chances are the bill won’t pass, as Schofield would need to collect 7,168 signatures by April 26, 2011, but Bay-area mohels might want to start thinking about what kind of front organization they can set up to perform the risky business on the down low.