The Green party is considering a new policy to ban circumcision, The Spectator can reveal. The party’s Health Policy Working Group (HPWG) has launched a consultation seeking views on whether parents should only be allowed to consent ‘to an irreversible surgical procedure on a child if that procedure is medically necessary’. The HPWG is also requesting opinions on whether ‘non-therapeutic male circumcision should only be performed on children who are old enough to make an informed choice’.
The policy proposal, launched ahead of the Greens’ Autumn Conference, is likely to provoke significant division within Zack Polanski’s party. Circumcision is an integral part of Judaism, with Jewish boys traditionally undergoing a ‘brit milah’ on the eighth day after birth. It is also a common procedure in the Muslim faith. Russell Langer, Director of Public Affairs at the Jewish Leadership Council, said: ‘Circumcision is a vital part of Jewish life and an essential link to our religion and heritage. This is also a practice shared with many of the Muslim faith. Any suggestion of a ban on circumcision will have a significant impact on our communities and the future of the UK as a tolerant society which respects freedom of religion and belief.’
Interestingly, the consultation on outlawing the practice was publicised specifically in a ‘Greens for Palestine’ WhatsApp group. A message posted on behalf of HPWG Consultation Officer, Conall Monaghan, said: ‘The Health Policy Working Group has a mandate to replace the entire health chapter of policies for a sustainable society with a new health policy focused on health equity and addressing the wider things that impact health, as well as the NHS. One of the central challenges we faced at conference last year was around this subject, so helping us to respond to this survey will be a huge help in ensuring the Green Party has an updated Health Policy from this Autumn.’
As with the party’s ‘Zionism is racism’ motion, which also happens to be making a conference comeback, debates over banning circumcision will expose deep divisions within the party. At the Green conference last year, a planned fringe event on ‘medically unnecessary penile circumcision in children’ was cancelled. The Jewish Greens warned of a ‘lack of understanding’ about the practice. Responding to this year’s health consultation, the official Green Party Women group decried the proposal as ‘controversial and goes completely against stated need for cultural sensitivities’.
A Green party spokesperson said: ‘Our Policy Working Groups are made up of members who work autonomously on policy exploration and formation projects. This is not party policy. The only way for anything to become party policy is through a vote at conference.’
Of course, this is just one issue among a myriad of radical or controversial proposals likely to feature at conference. While the party is enjoying a boost in the polls, managing its members’ expectations, and balancing them with those of the public, will prove no easy task.
Comments