Infant dies in Italy after circumcision by parents

An infant boy has died as the result of a circumcision performed by his parents at home in Italy, according to reports.

The ANSA news agency reported that the fivemonth-old baby was taken to a hospital in Bologna by helicopter in cardiac arrest on Friday and died that night.

The prosecutor’s office in the northern province of Reggio Emilia has opened a manslaughter investigation and the infant will undergo an autopsy.

Circumcision is not practised among Italy’s Roman Catholic majority.

Many immigrants in Italy are Muslim and practise circumcision for cultural and religious reasons, but sometimes have trouble accessing the practice in hospitals due to high costs and doctors refusing to perform circumcisions on boys under four..