Leland Traiman is the founder of Rainbow Flag Health Services, a unique known-donor sperm bank. The philosophy and goals of RFHS are always in the best interests of the child. In the below interview Traiman, a man of Jewish descent who was cut at birth, discusses genital integrity and the policy of RFHS to not offer services if a future child (male or female) is at risk of genital mutilation.
Rainbow Flag Health Services statement:
As a member of Nurses for the Rights of the Child, we believe that a child's human rights are paramount. We ethically cannot offer our services to those who intend to harm their children through the practice of ritual or "medical" genital mutilation (of either gender, commonly known as circumcision) or other forms of child abuse. As health professionals, we know there are no valid medical reasons for this, and as Jewish men who are survivors of ritual genital mutilation, we cannot ethically participate in assisting others in continuing this practice. See our Philosophy page for more information.
With reference to this issue and religious freedom: A human being is not born with a particular set of religious beliefs. A child, born from parents of a particular religion, is not a member of that religion by choice. The issue is not the religious freedom of the parents, but the human rights of the child. When there is a clash between children's human rights and parental rites, Rainbow Flag Health Services is on the side of the children.
"The constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion do not sanction harming another person in the practice of one's religion." Committee on Bioethics, American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics, January 1988.
Video interview by James Loewen. See more of Loewen's video interviews here.
This is fantastic!
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