text: A Florida woman who fled with her 4-year-old son to keep his circumcision from going forward has filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the boy. Heather Hironimus, who filed the complaint late Monday, is hoping a federal judge might intervene where state judges haven't. The complaint is repeating her claims that surgery on her 4-year-old son isn't necessary, that the boy doesn't want it, and that his constitutional rights are being violated. Aside from seeking to stop the procedure, Hironimus is trying to avoid her own arrest. Her arrest was ordered after she fled in February and ignored a judge's demand that she appear in court and allow the circumcision to go forward. Mother: Heather Hironimus fled with her son despite a judge's order to appear in court and to allow the circumcision favored by the child's father, Dennis Nebus, to go forward . Father: Dennis Nebus right, sits in court with his lawyers May Cain and William Snihur, Jr., in a continuing legal battle with Hironimus over circumcision (March 10, 2015 file photo) Hironimus and the boy's father, Dennis Nebus, have been warring since her pregnancy. They were never married but share custody of their child. In a parenting agreement filed in court, the two agreed to the boy's circumcision. Hironimus later changed her mind, giving way to a long court battle. Circuit and appellate judges have sided with Nebus, but potential surgeons have backed out after failing to get the mother's consent and becoming the target of anti-circumcision protesters. Though circumcision remains popular in Judeo-Christian tradition, religion had not been a driver in seeking the cutting of the boy's foreskin in this case. Nebus called it 'just the normal thing to do.' Supporters of Heather Hironiumus, Anthony Mollical and Zeresh Altork, gather outside of the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach where Hironiumus was meant to appear with her child (March 10, 2015 file photo) Fight: Supporters backing Heather Hironimus are seen outside a courthouse on March 10 . In the new filing, though, Hironimus tries to use the child's faith as a defense against the surgery, saying he is a Christian and citing New Testament passages to bolster her case that the practice is discouraged by their beliefs. Both parents have been under a gag order since December. Hironimus' attorney, Thomas Hunker, told the Associated Press that he couldn't reveal where his client was, but that she was fighting on behalf of a child who is frightened by the idea of undergoing surgery. Given the boy's age and the fact that he has voiced his own opposition to circumcision, Hunker said, the procedure could be particularly scarring. 'This could have a profound negative impact, a long-lasting if not permanent negative impact, on the child's psychological condition,' he said Tuesday. Hunker did not return a message seeking comment from Daily Mail Online. Attorneys representing Nebus declined to comment to Daily Mail Online, citing the order. An attorney for Nebus did not return a call seeking comment from the Associated Press. Circumcision rates have fallen in the U.S., but a majority of boys still undergo the procedure. Meantime, a bubbling movement of so-called anti-circumcision 'intactivists' has made the case a rallying cry against a surgery they view as barbaric.
target: Heather Hironimus and the boy's father, Dennis Nebus, have been warring since her pregnancy .
  They were never married but share custody of their 4-year-old child .
  In a parenting agreement filed in court, the two agreed to the boy's circumcision .
  Hironimus later changed her mind, giving way to a long court battle .
  She filed a federal civil rights complaint late Monday .
  It repeats the claims that surgery on her 4-year-old son isn't necessary, that the boy doesn't want it, and that his constitutional rights are being violated .
  Hironimus is also trying to avoid her own arrest .
  The arrest was ordered after she fled in February and ignored a judge's demand that she appear in court and allow the surgery to go forward .