Fewer areas offer religious circumcisions

Fewer local health authorities in Sweden are offering male circumcisions where the purpose of the operation is purely religious.

A new law was introduced five years ago to increase controls and protect boys from poorly performed operations. But with the increased controls, more and more local authorities have stopped offering the operation for non-medical purposes, Swedish Radio reports.

The number of local authorities that carry out the operation has halved since the law was introduced. The Skåne, Örebro and Värmland authorities have put a stop to all circumcisions that are not for purely medical reasons.