Germany to ban cosmetic surgery for children

AFP, April, 2008

BERLIN (AFP) — Deputies from Germany's ruling coalition called Wednesday for a ban on cosmetic surgery for children and adolescents, with some members also demanding a ban on tattoos and body piercings.

"Wishing for a breast job after finishing high school is no longer the exception," wrote the bill's 30 parliamentary co-sponsors.

Using industry data, Karl Lauterbach, health expert for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), estimated as many as 100,000 children and teenagers received cosmetic surgery annually.

"I believe that the beauty ideal, mostly for teenagers but also for children, has gone astray," Lauterbach, who studied medicine, said in an interview with broadcaster NDR.

Lauterbach and other sponsors of the bill have ...