Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats have succeeded in passing a bill that protects the right to perform ritual circumcisions. Yet it was not a unanimous victory: 434 of the Bundestag’s members voted in favor, one-hundred against, with forty-six abstaining. The opponents—members of the Left Party, Social Democrats, and Greens—had put forward an alternate bill that would have made male circumcisions illegal until age fourteen.
Thursday, December 13, 2012, 12:24 PM
December 13th, 2012 | 3:21 pm
Yet it was hardly a unanimous victory: One-hundred of the Bundestag’s 434 members voted against, with forty-six abstaining.
Please note that there were 434 votes in favor of the legislation, not 434 votes total. There were 580 votes cast.
Out of a total of 580 votes, it was as follows:
• 434 in favor (75%)
• 100 against (17%)
• 46 abstaining (8%)
As the story you link to says, “lawmakers overwhelmingly approved” the legislation.
December 13th, 2012 | 5:28 pm
In any sort of normal legislative setting – 75% is an overwhelming vote.
December 13th, 2012 | 5:57 pm
Thanks, David: Very helpful. I’ve updated the post.
December 13th, 2012 | 9:27 pm
Since the law is contrary to the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz), it is subject to constitutional challenge and should logically fail. The Cologne court was right to rule that non-surgical genital cutting of a child of ANY sex is indeed bodily harm. This is already acknowledged for girls, and the Grundgesetz guarantees equality of the sexes. (And no, they’re not the same, but they are sufficiently similar in the salient details – non-consented, non-therapeutic genital cutting – to be treated the same in law.)
December 14th, 2012 | 3:17 am
A shameful day for Germany:
On 12/12/12, 434 faint-hearted German legislators surrendered to political pressure, abdicated their sworn allegiance to their federal constitution, and passed a law giving superstitious Jews and Muslims the legal right to sexually violate and physically mutilate baby boys, and deny them their human right to be free from religion-based oppression and violence. .
December 18th, 2012 | 5:27 am
It is up to parents to decide whether to have their boys circumcised, and it would be advisable for anti-circumcision activists to respect this. Trying to ban circumcision has simply backfired. The practice may die out someday, but in the meantime it will be up to parents to make the decision that is best for their boys, in consultation with their doctor.
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