Editing Circumcision and law (section)

=== Sweden ===
In 2001, the [[Parliament of Sweden]] enacted a law allowing only persons certified by the National Board of Health to circumcise infants. It requires a medical doctor or an anesthesia nurse to accompany the circumciser and for anaesthetic to be applied beforehand. After the first two months of life circumcisions can only be performed by a physician. The stated purpose of the law was to increase the safety of the procedure.<ref name="SR">{{Cite news |date=22 October 2006 |title=Snitt som kostar – om omskärelse av pojkar |language=sv |work=[[Sveriges Radio]] |url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1316&artikel=974694 |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114082034/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1316&artikel=974694 |archive-date=14 January 2012}}</ref>

Swedish Jews and Muslims objected to the law,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 October 2001 |title=Sweden restricts circumcisions |publisher=[[BBC|BBC Europe]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1572483.stm |url-status=live |access-date=18 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307063020/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1572483.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |quote=Swedish Jews and Muslims object to the new law, saying it violates their religious rights.}}</ref> and in 2001, the [[World Jewish Congress]] called it "the first legal restriction on Jewish religious practice in Europe since the Nazi era".<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 2001 |title=Jews protest Swedish circumcision restriction |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/sweden2001.html#JewsprotestSwedish |access-date=20 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331011938/http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/sweden2001.html#JewsprotestSwedish |archive-date=31 March 2010 |quote=A WJC spokesman said, "This is the first legal restriction placed on a Jewish rite in Europe since the Nazi era. This new legislation is totally unacceptable to the Swedish Jewish community."}}</ref> The requirement for an anaesthetic to be administered by a medical professional is a major issue,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hofvander Y |date=February 2002 |title=New law on male circumcision in Sweden |journal=Lancet |volume=359 |issue=9306 |page=630 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(02)07737-1 |pmid=11867150 |s2cid=41222253|doi-access=free }}</ref> and the low degree of availability of certified professionals willing to conduct circumcision has also been subject to criticism.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Malin Beeck |date=5 March 2010 |title=Lång kötid för omskärelse |language=sv |work=UppsalaDemokraten |url=http://uppsalademokraten.etc.se/28460/lang-koetid-foer-omskaerelse/ }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> According to a survey, two out of three paediatric surgeons said they refuse to perform non-therapeutic circumcision, and less than half of all [[County Councils of Sweden|county councils]] offer it in their hospitals.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 July 2009 |title=Swedish doctors refuse to circumcise boys |work=[[The Local]] |url=http://www.thelocal.se/20900/20090725/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926033716/http://www.thelocal.se/20900/20090725/ |archive-date=26 September 2009}}</ref> However, in 2006, the U.S. State Department stated, in a report on Sweden, that most Jewish [[mohel]]s had been certified under the law and 3000 Muslim and 40–50 Jewish boys were circumcised each
year. An estimated 2000 of these are performed by persons who are neither physicians nor have officially recognised certification.<ref name="Holender2009">{{Cite news |last=Holender |first=Robert |date=24 July 2009 |title=Många läkare vägrar utföra omskärelse av unga pojkar |language=sv |work=[[Dagens Nyheter]] |url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/manga-lakare-vagrar-utfora-omskarelse-av-unga-pojkar/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818153522/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/manga-lakare-vagrar-utfora-omskarelse-av-unga-pojkar-1.918069 |archive-date=18 August 2010}}</ref>

The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare reviewed the law in 2005 and recommended that it be maintained,<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2006 |title=Sweden |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71410.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518040727/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71410.htm |archive-date=18 May 2020 |access-date=4 July 2007 |website=International Religious Freedom Report 2006 |publisher=US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor}}</ref> but found that the law had failed with regard to the intended consequence of increasing the safety of circumcisions.<ref name="Soc2007" /> A later report by the Board criticised the low level of availability of legal circumcisions, partly due to reluctance among health professionals.<ref name="Soc2007" /> To remedy this, the report suggested a new law obliging all county councils to offer non-therapeutic circumcision in their hospitals,<ref name="Soc2007">{{Cite report |url=http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2007/2007-107-7 |title=Omskärelse av pojkar |date=March 2007 |publisher=[[National Board of Health and Welfare (Sweden)|National Board of Health and Welfare]] |language=sv |docket=2007-107-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222063038/http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2007/2007-107-7 |archive-date=22 February 2012 }}</ref> but this was later abandoned in favour of a non-binding recommendation.<ref name="Holender2009" />

In January 2014, the [[Swedish Medical Association]] (SLF) found no known medical benefits to circumcision of children, and thus strong reasons to wait until the boy is old and mature enough (12 or 13 years old) to give informed consent,<ref name="Mellgren">{{Cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/a/cf95558a-f6b5-3bc2-829a-19c3d5a652d0/lakarforbundet-krav-samtycke-for-religios-omskarelse |title=Läkarförbundet: "Kräv samtycke för religiös omskärelse" |trans-title=Medical Association: "Require consent for religious circumcision" |last=Mellgren |first=Fredrik |work=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |date=25 January 2014 |access-date=12 October 2022 |language=sv}}</ref> aiming at ceasing all non-medically justified circumcision without prior consent:<ref name="SLF2">{{Cite web |title=Omskärelse av pojkar |url=https://slf.se/rad-och-stod/okategoriserad/omskarelse-av-pojkar/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016133740/https://slf.se/rad-och-stod/okategoriserad/omskarelse-av-pojkar/ |archive-date=16 October 2019 |access-date=2019-10-16 |website=Sveriges läkarförbund |language=sv-SE}}</ref>

{{blockquote |The issue of circumcision of boys has long been debated both in Sweden and in other countries. The Ethics and Responsibility Council (EAR) believes that the goal is to cease non-medically justified circumcision without prior consent. There are no known medical benefits to the [circumcision] intervention in children. Even if the procedure is performed within the healthcare system, there is, however, a risk of serious complications. Therefore, there are strong reasons to wait for the intervention until the person who is the subject of the measure has reached such age and maturity that he can give informed consent. (...)| author = {{Flagicon|Sweden}} [[Swedish Medical Association]]}}

In October 2018, the right-wing populist [[Sweden Democrats]] party submitted a draft motion to parliament calling for a ban. At the annual conference of the [[Centre Party (Sweden)|Centre Party]] in September 2019, 314 to 166 commissioners voted in favor of prohibiting boys' circumcision. Several Jewish and Islamic organisations voiced their opposition to a potential ban.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2019 |title=Jews join fight against Swedish party's call to ban circumcisions |language=en |work=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jews-join-fight-against-swedish-partys-call-to-ban-circumcisions/ |url-status=live |access-date=6 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005235155/https://www.timesofisrael.com/jews-join-fight-against-swedish-partys-call-to-ban-circumcisions/ |archive-date=5 October 2019}}</ref> The [[Left Party (Sweden)|Left Party]] has also expressed support for a prohibition on circumcising boys before the age of 18; other parties have so far not backed a potential ban, though the Green Party found the practice "problematic".<ref name="Edwards">{{Cite news |last=Catherine Edwards |date=2 October 2019 |title=Jews and Muslims in Sweden outraged over call to ban male circumcision |work=The Local |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20191002/jews-and-muslims-in-sweden-outraged-over-call-to-ban-male-circumcision |url-status=live |access-date=6 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006005052/https://www.thelocal.se/20191002/jews-and-muslims-in-sweden-outraged-over-call-to-ban-male-circumcision |archive-date=6 October 2019}}</ref>

;In favour of a ban
* [[Sweden Democrats]]<ref name="Edwards" />
* [[Left Party (Sweden)|Left Party]]<ref name="Edwards" />
* Swedish Ombudsman for Children<ref name="Nordic Ombudsmen 1"/><ref name="Nordic Ombudsmen 2"/>
* [[Swedish Medical Association]]<ref name="Mellgren"/><ref name="SLF2" />

;Against a ban
* [[Christian Democrats (Sweden)|Christian Democrats]]<ref name="Edwards" />
* [[Liberals (Sweden)|Liberals]]<ref name="Edwards" />
* [[Moderate Party]]<ref name="Edwards" />
* [[Swedish Social Democratic Party]]<ref name="Edwards" />
* [[Green Party (Sweden)|Green Party]] (does find circumcision "problematic")<ref name="Edwards" />