Heather Hironimus from Florida, mother to a 4 year old son, consented on Friday to allow her son to be circumcised, ending a legal battle with the child’s father, according to media reports.
The mother, 31, was put behind bars for a week after hiding out with her son months after a protracted court fight to block the circumcision. Heather Hironimus signed papers giving approval for the surgery, recoiling in tears and clasping her shackled hands after it was done.
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Crying in a state courtroom in Palm Beach County, Florida, she consented to the procedure shortly after a judge ordered her to remain jailed until signing off on it, the Sun Sentinel newspaper reported.
According to Daily Mail the mother said of Judge Jeffrey Gillen, who presided over the case. ‘I don’t know what’s in his head. I don’t know how he can sleep at night.’
A lawyer for the child’s father, Dennis Nubus, said a date for the circumcision had not been scheduled, the Post reported.
The procedure may take place out of state, as Nubus has received death threats from anti-circumcision activists, says the Post.
The circumcision has been at the center of a parental battle that evolved into an international controversy. In February the scheduled surgery did not take place and protesters credit themselves for “saving the boy from the knife.”
Hironimus went missing with the boy at the same time, ignoring warnings from Gillen to be in court and allow the circumcision to proceed.
The case has been going on for years. The boy’s parents – Dennis Nebus and Heather Hironimus – separated before their son was born. Their parenting contract places responsibility on the father for scheduling and paying for the boy’s circumcision and requires the mother to sign any required documents in a timely manner. Over time, the circumcision was forgotten, Chase remained intact, and his mother became passionate about protecting boys from circumcision.
The boy’s father raised the circumcision issue after his son was three years old, alleging medical problems. Pediatric urologist Dr. Charles W. Flack examined the boy and said the boy was healthy and circumcision wasn’t medically necessary.
Jewish law only requires circumcision for Jewish males, and has absolutely no such requirement for non-Jews.
