New legislation signed into law by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday makes female genital mutilation a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The laws apply both to doctors who conduct the procedure and parents who transport a child to undergo it. "Those who commit these horrendous crimes should be held accountable for their actions, and these bills stiffen the penalties for offenders while providing additional support to victims," Gov. Snyder said in a statement. "This legislation is an important step toward eliminating this despicable practice in Michigan while empowering victims to find healing and justice."
The governor also signed a bill allowing for a health professional's license or registration to be revoked if he or she is convicted of female genital mutilation.
Michigan is the 26th state to ban the practice; the state laws go into effect in October. The practice was banned in the United States in 1996, but Michigan's laws impose harsher penalties than the federal law. The package of bills comes amid the federal criminal trial of an emergency room doctor in Michigan, Jumana Nagarwala, charged with performing the procedure on multiple girls at a clinic in suburban Detroit. The Department of Justice says it believes the case is the first to be brought under the federal law. Another doctor and his wife are also charged in the case, the AP reports.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday July 14 2017, @04:05PM (4 children)
There haven't been as many studies on it, but there's some evidence that it causes similar although not quite as drastic harms as female circumcision, such as reduction in sexual pleasure. Of course, the real reason it hasn't received the same kind of scrutiny is that it's something "our" people do rather than those weirdos from faraway places that talk funny.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 14 2017, @04:36PM (1 child)
Don't be stupid. This is almost a partial abortion and must be punished as such.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday July 14 2017, @05:02PM
Which, FGM or circumcision?
I don't buy your analogy.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by lgsoynews on Friday July 14 2017, @06:21PM
From what I've read, the result depends on people (and probably on how the circumcision is done).
Some men who were operated as adults report a GAIN in pleasure, some a LOSS (and regret their decision).
Those are individual testimonies, I don't know if there has been a serious study on the subject.
Of course, the problem if that most are operated very young and don't have a comparison point, very convenient for the assholes who push for it being done on kids. (I have nothing against adult deciding to be operated if it's a personal choice)
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Friday July 14 2017, @09:13PM
Please provide citations for this that don't come from the anti-circumcision crowd.
Not saying it isn't true, but buying biased claims without confirming them isn't the best way to get at the truth.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr