Chicago judge blocks boy's circumcision

CHICAGO, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. Circuit Court judge in Chicago has blocked a 9-year-old boy's mother from having her son circumcised, ruling it wasn't medically necessary.

The woman and her new husband had planned to have the boy circumcised to prevent recurring infections and discomfort but the boy's natural father objected and filed a motion to prevent it, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

"This court ... finds that the medical evidence as provided by the testimony of the expert witnesses ... is inconclusive as to the medical benefits or non-benefits of circumcision as it relates to the 9-year-old child," Kaplan wrote in his ruling.

He also noted the boy had said in a statement he didn't want to be circumcised, and that his stepfather had shown him pictures of the procedure to prepare him for it.

The ruling will remain in force until the boy reaches the age of 18 and can make his own decision as an adult, the report said.