German Circumcision Act
In Germany, the so-called "Circumcision Act" usually means the new additional paragraph 1631d BGB which was adopted on December 12, 2012 by the German Bundestag. It legalizes the medically not indicated circumcision of underage boys for the time being under certain conditions.
Before adoption and continuing thereafter, intactivists fight against this "Circumcision Act" because from many legal experts' view, it violates the Grundgesetz (German Constitution) and other legal norms.
The Text of the Circumcision Act
The law was placed in the Civil Code in Book 4 (family law), in section 2 (relationship) and there placed in title 5 (custody).
§ 1631d BGB Circumcision of the Male Child
(1) Personal Care also includes the right to consent to the circumcision of the male child who lacks competence and understanding, if it is to be performed according to proper medical standards. This does not apply when the circumcision, also considering the motivation, endangers the child's well-being. (2) During the first 6 months of life, persons appointed by a religious group may perform circumcisions according to paragraph 1, if they are specially trained and, without being a medical doctor, are similarly competent to perform circumcision.
Remarkable
The draft of the Federal Ministery of Justice had been almost identically adopted as a bill from the Cabinet. Exactly one statement was changed in the legal text:
The draft stated in paragraph 1, clause 1
"[...] if it is performed according to proper medical standards."
The passed bill, however, is
"[...] if it is to be performed according to proper medical standards."
This reformulation removes the legal issue from the law to prove that operations are actually done in accordance with the rules of medical science. Now the law accepts if the doctor or clipper has stated their intention to want to perform circumcision according to the rules of medical science.