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posted by martyb on Friday July 14 2017, @03:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the cut-it-out! dept.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/12/536863961/michigan-laws-will-increase-penalties-for-performing-female-genital-mutilation

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.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 14 2017, @07:24PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 14 2017, @07:24PM (#539280)

    No medical benefits I've ever heard of, or encountered in my oh so natural state. Haven't had any women complain either. So, you're some sort of idiot defending a stupid tradition.

    All that said, yes FGM is worse than MGM but that doesn't mean MGM should be treated as unimportant. Kinda like men who suffer domestic abuse, they are laughed at instead of given sympathy and support.

    There is nothing wrong with putting this on equal footing, don't mutilate babies / children! Do we really need separate buckets of concern when it comes to this??

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by NotSanguine on Friday July 14 2017, @08:14PM (4 children)

    No medical benefits I've ever heard of, or encountered in my oh so natural state. Haven't had any women complain either. So, you're some sort of idiot defending a stupid tradition.

    I helpfully provided you with a link [nih.gov] specifically describing the medical benefits.

    Did you look at it and ignore it because it doesn't fit with your view? Or did you not even bother, as you don't want your specially constructed view of reality to be disturbed?

    All that said, yes FGM is worse than MGM but that doesn't mean MGM should be treated as unimportant. Kinda like men who suffer domestic abuse, they are laughed at instead of given sympathy and support.

    I never said that circumcision should be treated as unimportant. I pointed out that cutting off the clitoris is *much* worse (especially for sexual response) than male circumcision (which has not been shown to affect sexual response *at all*).

    There is nothing wrong with putting this on equal footing, don't mutilate babies / children! Do we really need separate buckets of concern when it comes to this??

    Yes, I get it. But I disagree that these two procedures are comparable.

    I pointed out that the question of performing these sorts of procedures on babies was a larger question. That's certainly problematic, but is tangential to the discussion, IMHO.

    My ire was drawn because these types of articles always draw in those males who need to hijack the discussion to put the focus on them, rather than the horrific (cutting off the clitoris is often done in incredibly unsanitary conditions) ways that girls are tortured.

    Given the enormous differences in medical outcomes, complications and reduced sexual response/function between cutting off the clitoris and removing the foreskin of the penis, there really is no valid comparison between the two.

    I don't advocate either one. I just find the comparison both inappropriate and, in some cases, downright misogynistic.

    Feel free to disagree with me. I have no designs on your (or anyone else's but my own) penis.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 14 2017, @09:38PM (2 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday July 14 2017, @09:38PM (#539349) Journal

      Those "benefits" are a nothingburger. Cuts HIV transmission in half? So not nearly as effective as abstinence, condoms, and Truvada, and obsolete if HIV/AIDS is ever cured. Same for the other STIs.

      Neonatal male circumcision provides other potential benefits during childhood such as prevention of infant urinary tract infections, meatitis, balanitis, and phimosis, as well as protection from viral STIs.

      All treatable and can be reduced with proper hygiene.

      There were no significant differences in male sexual satisfaction or dysfunction among trial participants, and in one trial, circumcised men reported increased penile sensitivity and enhanced ease of reaching orgasm.

      Ahahahahaha! What a benefit!

      Even if these benefits were compelling, and they're not according to the AAP, whose statement [aap.org] was written after this paper was published, the mutilation procedure is done without the patient's consent and remains a violation of human rights. If you want it cut, do it as an adult. You'll love it and get to make some nice memories.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 14 2017, @11:11PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 14 2017, @11:11PM (#539393)

        This is why it must be stopped, right here, right now! There is nothing that is a "nothingburger"! Do NOT start using that term! It is a cultural disease, spreading from New York, and has infected Washington DC. Do not let it spread to SN!!!

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 15 2017, @05:54AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 15 2017, @05:54AM (#539476)

          I'll nothingburger your nothingburger until you can only nothingburger, you nothingburger!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 15 2017, @12:36AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 15 2017, @12:36AM (#539414)

      So yeah, cut the head off a guy's penis and see if he has the same sensitivity problems as a woman who has had a 'total' FGM done.

      Yeah they would have problems too, not including any potential problems with peeing and other issues pertaining to having the whole tip cut off.

      The point is: both are terrible, and both should be abolished on the same legal grounds and for the same reasons. It is time to stop this masculism vs feminism crap and start saying what should be right for both until they are old enough to legally decide for themselves.