A San Francisco trial judge says she intends to strike a ban on male circumcision from the city's November ballot.
Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi said in a tentative ruling Wednesday that the proposed law prohibiting circumcision of male children violates a California law that makes regulating medical procedures a function of the state, not cities.
The initiative would have banned the circumcision of males younger than 18 in city and county of San Francisco. And if you were caught circumcising a child, it would have been a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail, with no exemptions for religious bounds.
Giorgi ordered San Francisco's elections director to remove the controversial measure from the ballot to be considered by city voters, writing that it "serves no legitimate purpose."
Giorgi is scheduled to hear arguments on the issue Thursday before making her ruling final.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
