Circumcision & the law
Where children are protected — and where they aren't
Almost no country bans non-therapeutic circumcision of minors outright — a handful regulate it, reform has been proposed in a few, and the rest have no specific statute. Every country on the world map is here: documented laws are detailed and sourced; the rest reflect the global default. Educational, not legal advice.
Back to the world overview171
countries tracked
6
with legal limits
2
reform proposed
163
unregulated
Documented laws & reforms
🇦🇺 Australia
Banned in most public hospitals; legal privately.
Routine infant circumcision has been removed from most public hospitals across Australian states and is discouraged by medical bodies, though it remains legal when performed privately. The Tasmania Law Reform Institute’s 2012 report recommended restricting non-therapeutic circumcision of minors.
🇩🇪 Germany
Legal, but regulated after a 2012 federal law.
Following a 2012 Cologne court ruling, Germany passed a law permitting non-therapeutic circumcision of boys, but requiring it be performed by a physician once a boy is older than six months. Younger infants may be circumcised by specially trained members of religious communities.
🇿🇦 South Africa
Min. age 16Children’s Act: prohibited under 16 except religious/medical.
South Africa’s Children’s Act prohibits the circumcision of male children under 16 except for religious or medical reasons; for boys over 16 it may be performed only with their consent after proper counselling.
🇫🇮 Finland
Court rulings require consent and medical standards.
Finland has no specific statute, but a 2008 Supreme Court ruling held that non-therapeutic circumcision may be lawful when performed in a medically appropriate way with the consent of both parents and consideration of the child’s wishes.
🇳🇴 Norway
A 2015 law requires a physician and pain relief.
Norway’s 2015 Act requires ritual circumcision to be performed by, or under the supervision of, a physician and with adequate pain relief; hospitals must offer the procedure. A statutory minimum age has been debated but not enacted.
🇸🇪 Sweden
Legal but regulated: anaesthesia and a licensed practitioner required.
A 2001 law requires that circumcision be carried out with anaesthesia administered by a medical professional. For boys over two months it must be performed by a licensed doctor; under two months a person certified by the National Board of Health may perform it.
🇩🇰 Denmark
No minimum age; a citizens’ initiative for an age limit was rejected.
Denmark has no minimum-age law. A 2018 citizens’ initiative proposing a minimum age of 18 drew strong public support in polling but was rejected by parliament in 2020. Intact Denmark continues to campaign on the issue.
🇮🇸 Iceland
2018 bill to ban it for minors — shelved after international pressure.
In 2018 Iceland’s Progressive Party introduced a bill to ban non-therapeutic circumcision of minors, which would have made Iceland the first European country to do so. The bill was put on hold later that year following pressure from religious groups and several governments.
🇧🇪 Belgium
Legal; a bioethics committee recommended against it.
Non-therapeutic circumcision of minors is legal and unregulated. In 2017 Belgium’s Federal Advisory Committee on Bioethics recommended against the practice on children who cannot consent.
🇨🇦 Canada
No restricting law; no longer publicly funded in most provinces.
Canada has no law restricting non-therapeutic infant circumcision. Most provinces removed it from public health-insurance coverage decades ago, and the Canadian Paediatric Society does not recommend it routinely.
🇫🇷 France
No specific statute; practised mainly within religious communities.
France has no specific statute on non-therapeutic circumcision, which is practised mainly within Jewish and Muslim communities rather than routinely.
🇮🇱 Israel
Legal and near-universal as the Jewish rite of brit milah.
Circumcision is legal and near-universal, performed on the eighth day after birth as the central Jewish rite of brit milah. No statute restricts it.
🇳🇱 Netherlands
Legal, but the medical association formally discourages it.
Non-therapeutic circumcision of minors is legal and unregulated, but the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) has, since 2010, formally discouraged it as a violation of the child’s right to autonomy and physical integrity.
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Legal but uncommon and no longer publicly funded.
Routine infant circumcision is legal but uncommon in New Zealand, is not publicly funded, and is not recommended by paediatric bodies.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Lawful with parental consent; no specific statute.
No specific statute restricts non-therapeutic circumcision of minors in the United Kingdom; it is lawful with the consent of those with parental responsibility. The NHS stopped routinely funding it in 1948.
🇺🇸 United States
No law restricts non-therapeutic infant circumcision.
The United States has no statute restricting non-therapeutic infant circumcision, which is performed with parental consent. It is the only country where most infant boys are circumcised for non-religious reasons.
No specific statute · 155 countries
These countries have no specific national statute restricting non-therapeutic circumcision of minors — the global default — so it is generally lawful with parental or guardian consent. A general assessment, not individual legal research; tap a country for its profile and verify locally.
Educational summary, not legal advice. Laws change — verify with the linked sources before relying on them.