Battle Over Florida Boy's Circumcision Enters Federal Court

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WEST PALM BEACH (CBSMiami/AP) —  The battle over a Florida boy's circumcision is, for the first time, headed to a federal courtroom.

Thirty-one-year-old Heather Hironimus was arrested Thursday in the long-running dispute over the removal of her 4-year-old child's foreskin. She went missing with the boy nearly three months ago and ignored a judge's warnings that if she didn't appear in court and give consent for the circumcision to proceed, she faced jail.

The case originated in state courts but will be heard in a federal courtroom Monday in West Palm Beach. An attorney for Hironimus filed a federal civil rights complaint as legal options faded.

A judge is due to hear a motion asking for a restraining order against the boy's father to keep the surgery from happening.

The hearing is set to start at 1 p.m.

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