with pride in the Rabbinical Assembly's voice in this conversation,
here are some articles on the NYC Board Of Health Approval of Measure Against "Bris Suction" Practice
NYTimes: Denouncing City's Move to Regulate Circumcision
By SHARON OTTERMAN - Published: September 12, 2012
from the article: Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik, the president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative Rabbis, said he supported the Board of Health's move to require parental consent. He said that direct suction was not required by Jewish law and that the serious risks of the practice were "inconsistent with the Jewish tradition's pre-eminent concern with human life and health."...read more....
N.Y Jewish Week: Board Of Health Unanimously Approves Measure Against Bris Suction Practice
09/13/12 - Staff Report and JTA
from the article: Metzitzah b'peh is not used in most Jewish circumcision ceremonies, but many in the haredi community still adhere to it. Haredi leaders have resisted calls to replace direct oral suction with the alternative approaches. The health department's vote represents the culmination of a year of debate surrounding the practice, which was sparked by the death of an infant in Brooklyn last September and the subsequent revelation that a mohel who performed the ritual on the infant had tested positive for herpes. In June, New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley condemned the practice of direct oral suction. Some 200 haredi Orthodox rabbis in New York signed a statement last week accusing the health department of "spreading lies" in order to pass the waiver measure.... read more....
