New York ( CNN ) -- New York City 's Board of Health voted Thursday to require parents to sign a consent form before having their child undergo a controversial ultra-Orthodox Jewish circumcision ritual after two children died from the herpes virus contracted during the procedure , authorities said . The parental consent form must include information regarding the possible fatal risks of the ritual , according to Chanel Caraway , a spokeswoman from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene . It 's not clear if the form will absolve clergy from potential lawsuits . The ritual , known as the metzitzah b'peh , is a type of circumcision in which the person performing the procedure , or mohel , directly places his mouth on and sucks the blood from the baby 's newly circumcised penis . The controversial ritual came under intense scrutiny earlier this year after health officials reported 11 babies had contracted herpes infections between 2000 and 2011 . Why I did n't circumcise my sons . The health department reported that an estimated 20,493 infants in New York City were exposed to direct oral suction in that period . `` There is no safe way to perform oral suction on any open wound in a newborn , '' said the health commissioner , Dr. Thomas Farley . Baby boys who were reportedly circumcised `` with confirmed or probable orogenital suction '' between April 2006 and December 2011 had an estimated risk of contracting neonatal herpes ( HSV-1 ) infection of 24.4 per 100,000 cases , 3.4 times greater than other infants , the health department said . `` The ethical duty to protect the interests of vulnerable infants and to support parents in making informed and responsible choices can not be overridden , '' a group of doctors and bioethicists from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics said in a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg . Yoram Unguru , a Jewish pediatrician , hailed the decision , saying authorities should protect children `` from the consequences of unwise decisions . '' `` In my mind , the amendment does n't go far enough -- getting parental consent for circumcision in general , that 's appropriate and sufficient , but consent for the metzitzah b'peh should not be allowed , '' he said . It `` should not be performed , period . '' Top pediatrics group : Benefits of infant circumcision outweigh risks . Members of the orthodox community blasted the decision , calling it an infringement of constitutional rights . `` By telling a mohel he is prohibited from performing a religious ritual unless he tells the parents that , by the way , the child might die in the process , you are forcing us to say something which we are convinced is wrong , '' said Rabbi David Niederman of the Brooklyn-based United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg . Niederman and other community members say they plan to contest the regulation . `` We want to work , we have tried , and we are committed to work with the Department of Health to address their concerns in any way , shape or form that does not conflict with our religious and constitutional rights , '' he said . `` The practice will continue . '' Why I decided to circumcise my sons .
A parental consent form must include information regarding the possibly fatal risks of the ritual . The city estimates 20,493 infants in New York City were exposed to direct oral suction . The ritual , known as the metzitzah b'peh , is a particular type of circumcision . The mohel places his mouth on and sucks the blood from the baby 's newly circumcised penis .