Almost three-quarters of Danish people 'want to ban circumcision'

Denmark's parliament is due to discuss the topic in talks next week

Figures from Sundhedsstyrelsen suggest that somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 circumcision are performed in Denmark each year (Getty Images)

Almost three-quarters of Danish people support some form of ban on circumcision, according to survey results.

The results to the poll come as the country's parliament prepares to discuss the issue next week.

In the survey of 1,000 Danes, commissioned by Danish newspaper Metroxpress, 74 per cent of respondents agreed that there should be a full or partial ban on circumcision, with only 10 per cent saying they supported the right for parents to choose whether their sons have the procedure, according the English language news site The Local.

Denmark's parliament will hold a hearing on Wenesday to discuss circumcision, with both the left-wing Red-Green alliance (Ehedslisten) and libertarian party Liberal Alliance both pushing for a ban.

Last year, the Danish health and medicines authority, Sundhedsstyrelsen, came to the conclusion that there was not enough documentation of the benefits of circumcision to recommend it, but conversely, there was not enough risk to justify a ban. Its report came on the back of extensive media coverage debating the topic.

Figures from Sundhedsstyrelsen suggest that somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 circumcision are performed in Denmark each year, with Jewish and Muslim boys making up the majority of patients.

Jair Melchoir of the Jewish faith group Mosaisk Troessamfund told Metroxpress: "The problem is that there are so many assertions in the debate on circumcising boys. If it was so dangerous, the Jewish community would have been the first to stop it. But it’s not."