In New York City, 11 unfortunate babies have contracted herpes because of a circumcision procedure. Jewish-Orthodox parents often request that their children undergo this operation shortly after their birth. In ultra-Orthodox Jewish families, the parents may request a religious ceremony known as metzitzbah b’peh at the time of the operation. This process involved a mohel who has oral contact with the surgery. This practice has triggered the herpes cases in New York City. The report has ignited a debate over public health versus religious liberties. Ten of the babies who came down with the disease were hospitalized, and at least two developed brain damage. Two of the infants have already died.

According to TIME Magazine, the New York City Mayor in 2005 requested that rabbis stopped the metziztbah b’peh, and issued a letter to the Jewish community to warn to the health risks. The religious group refused the warning, saying that the practice is safe. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that the investigation into these Herpes’s infections dates back as far as 2004. That year, the New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene was notified of twin boys who contracted a herpes virus. One of the little boys died from the procedure.

The investigation in 2004 showed that there were other cases that had not been reported in 2003, where the same mohel had participated in the procedure. This mohel was not actively shedding the herpes virus, but had antibodies of HSV in his blood. The three babies developed lesions near the surgery site, and were hospitalized. TIME says that 85 percent of all neonatal HSV infections are transmitted during delivery from an infected mother. Only 10 percent of these illnesses are transmitted after birth. About 73 percent of all adults in New York City alone have Herpes, but it is very rare in baby boys.

However, the infants who are given a circumcision along with the metziztbah b’peh action have 3.4 times the possibility that they will contract herpes. The CDC writes that circumcision is a surgical procedure that can transmit infections if it is not performed under sterile conditions. Oral contact with an open wound, such as metziztbah b’peh, is not sterile and can therefore transmit HSV and other dangerous pathogens. The CDC discourages parents from submitting their children to the dangerous oral suction practice after the operation.

While the New York City Health Commissioner has requested that the dangerous practice not be performed, Jewish communities have the right to choose whether or not they want to submit their children to this danger because of their right to live out their religious convictions. However, TIME reports that circumcisions in newborns are declining over time. The procedure is sometimes done at a hospital, but in the Jewish community it is often performed on the child at home when a mohel is present.

Hospital data shows that circumcisions in the medical facility have dropped from 62.5 percent in 1999 to 56.9 percent in 2008.This may be in part because the American Academy of Pediatrics was not able to collect enough data to recommend the practice. The CDC shows that this position influenced many insurance companies as to whether or not they would reimburse for the procedure. The action also showed that parents began reconsidering their decision to have their child circumcised. If your child was infected with a dangerous disease because of a circumcision that was not completed in a sterile environment, then you might want to contact a medical malpractice attorney. Depending on your case, you may be able to receive compensation for your pain and the medical bills that you will have to pay because of your child’s illness.