Some Danes seek to limit male circumcision to 18 and over

A Danish group says a citizens' initiative seeking to set a minimum age of 18 for non-medical male circumcision in Denmark has gathered the required 50,000 signatures to send the proposal to Parliament for debate this year.

Lena Nyhus of Intact Denmark told The Associated Press today that her children's welfare group believes "we need to respect a person's right to decide for themselves" on a possible circumcision when they become an adult.

The ritual of removing an infant boy's foreskin is common among Jews and Muslims.

A recent poll commissioned by Danish TV2 broadcaster found that 83 per cent of respondents supported such an age limit on circumcising boys.

However, the proposal is unlikely to pass since none of Denmark's main political parties support it.