Sobbing mum handcuffed and forced to give consent to 4-year-old son’s circumcision

A heartbroken mother has been forced to give her consent to surgeons planning to remove her 4-year-old’s foreskin, against both his and her wishes

Sobbing mum handcuffed and forced to give consent to 4-year-old son’s circumcision

by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

When Chase was born in 2011, his mother, Heather Hironimus, signed a legal agreement which gave Chase's father permission to have their (then) baby boy circumcised.

However, four years later, the surgery (which usually occurs within 10 days of birth) had still not happened.

The little boy was adamant that he did not want the surgery, something which his mother felt should be his decision to make.

There was also the fact that, at Chase’s age, the operation requires general anaesthetic, something which his mother feared could put him at risk of brain damage or death.

Despite all of this, and despite the fact that a paediatric urologist called Dr Charles Flack went on record to say the surgery is NOT necessary, the legal document meant that Chase must still undergo circumcision.

Especially since his father, whom is no longer with Heather, stills wants him to have the operation.

For over a year, Heather - and a huge number of supporters - campaigned to stop the surgery being performed on her son.

However her battle came to an emotional end today.

Heather, who had been arrested after taking her little boy into hiding, was told by a judge that she would not be allowed to leave prison until she changed her mind about her son’s circumcision.

The Sun Sentinel said: “Still wearing handcuffs, and weeping, she took a pen from her attorney, Thomas Hunker, and signed the consent.”

The judge also gave Chase’s father temporary full custody of the boy, including the right to make all educational, medical and living arrangements.

Petrina Fadel, member of a group called Catholics Against Circumcision, was among those watching the case from afar who blasted Judge Gillen for requiring the consent form.

"A consent form signed under mental anguish and with the threat of staying in jail is not consent," she told The Sun Sentinel.

"That is coercion, and no doctor anywhere should be willing to perform a surgery on a child who does not need it, does not want it, and whose mother was coerced."

Heather has been charged with interference of custody, a third-degree felony, from her months of hiding with the boy in a Broward County domestic violence shelter.

If found guilty, she faces five years in prison.

Find out more about Chase's story at the savingchase.org website now.

Do you think he should undergo surgery? Join the debate in our comments box below now.

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