Supreme court turns away Oregon circumcision
case
by Ashbel S. Green, The Oregonian
The U.S. Supreme Court today declined
to take up an Oregon dispute between a father who wants
to circumcise his 13-year-old son against the wishes of
the boy's mother.
The case now goes back to an Oregon trial judge to
determine whether the boy wants to undergo the
procedure.
James Boldt, a former Southern Oregon resident who
converted to Judaism, says his son wants to be
circumcised for religious reasons.
Lia Boldt claims her son is afraid to tell his father
that he does not want to undergo the procedure.
The Boldts married in the early 1990s. She filed for
divorce in 1998.
The boy initially lived with his mother, but the
father later gained custody. James Boldt started
studying Judaism in 1999 and eventually
converted.
James Boldt claims that as the custodial parent he has
a constitutional right to raise his son in his
religion.
The Oregon Supreme Court earlier this
year did not rule on the substance of the dispute, but
said the trial judge needed to determine the boy's
wishes before deciding which parent to side with.
-- Ashbel S. (Tony) Green;
tonygreen@news.oregonian.com
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