Editing Circumcision and law (section)

=== Slovenia ===
The Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman found in February 2012, after consulting various relevant expert bodies and studying relevant constitutional and legal stipulations, that circumcision for non-medical reasons is a violation of children's rights, that ritual circumcision for religious reasons is unacceptable in Slovenia for both legal and ethical reasons and should not be performed by doctors:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obrezovanje fantkov iz nemedicinskih razlogov je kršitev otrokovih pravic |url=https://www.varuh-rs.si/sl/obravnavane-pobude/primer/obrezovanje-fantkov-iz-nemedicinskih-razlogov-je-krsitev-otrokovih-pravic/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916221740/https://www.varuh-rs.si/sl/obravnavane-pobude/primer/obrezovanje-fantkov-iz-nemedicinskih-razlogov-je-krsitev-otrokovih-pravic/ |archive-date=16 September 2020 |access-date=12 October 2022 |website=varuh-rs.si}}</ref>

{{blockquote|We asked the Higher Academic College for Surgery for professional doctrine in this area (...). The College did not answer all our questions, but sent us the conclusion that circumcision of boys for non-medical reasons is not medically justified.

The Medical Ethics Commission of the Republic of Slovenia sent us a longer response, from which we will summarise its principled opinion, "that ritual circumcision of boys for religious reasons is unacceptable in our country for legal and ethical reasons, and doctors should not perform it". In addition to the unacceptability of circumcision from an ethical point of view, the Commission also emphasises that it is also unacceptable that an already performed procedure is falsely shown as medically indicated in the medical documentation.

We asked the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia for information on the payment for circumcision (...) which, according to the institute, is EUR 34.88 per treatment. If the intervention is not medically indicated, the service is not covered by health insurance and must be paid for by the patient or their representatives. (...)

It is clear from Article 56 (special protection of children) and Article 35 (inviolability of physical and mental integrity of everyone) of the Slovenian Constitution that any interference with the physical integrity of the child is limited, and can only be justified by medical reasons. (...) However, if the circumcision of a child is not medically indicated, but is only the result of the beliefs of its parents (religious or otherwise), such an intervention has no legal basis. (...) The Patient's Rights Act stipulates that, as a rule, children have the capacity to consent after the age of 15, unless the doctor assesses that they are not capable of doing so based on their maturity. By law, a child under the age of 15 is generally not capable of giving consent, and even in these cases the doctor can assess that it is capable of doing so. The law specifically stipulates that the child's opinion regarding treatment is taken into account to the greatest extent possible, if it is able to express the opinion and if it understands its meaning and consequences.

(...) While parents have some rights to conform their children's education to their religious and ethical beliefs (as long as these do not violate the rights of the children themselves) under Article 41.3 of the Constitution, in our view, the guidelines on religious education do not include the right of parents to decide to interfere with their child's body solely because of their religious beliefs. Therefore, we believe that circumcision for non-medical reasons is not admissible and represents an illegal intervention in the child's body, thereby violating its rights.
| author = {{Flagicon|Slovenia}} Slovenian Human Rights Ombudsman|title=|source=}}