Congress Lacks Authority To Enforce Decades-Old Genital Mutilation Law, Judge Rules
Judge Bernard Friedman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan said the regulation of female genital mutilation should be left to the states. The ruling shocked women's rights advocates, who say the decision "sends the message that the authorities are not serious about protecting girls, especially those in immigrant communities, from this form of abuse.”
The New York Times:
Federal Ban On Female Genital Mutilation Ruled Unconstitutional By Judge
More than two decades ago, Congress adopted a sweeping law that outlawed female genital mutilation, an ancient practice that 200 million women and girls around the world have undergone. But a federal court considering the first legal challenge to the statute found the law unconstitutional on Tuesday, greatly diminishing the chances of it being used by federal prosecutors around the country. A federal judge in Michigan issued the ruling in a case that involved two doctors and four parents, among others, who had been criminally charged last year with participating in or enabling the ritual genital cutting of girls. Their families belong to a small Shiite Muslim sect, the Dawoodi Bohra, that is originally from western India. (Belluck, 11/21)
The Associated Press:
Ruling In Genital Mutilation Case Shocks Women's Advocates
Women's rights advocates said they were shocked when a federal judge in Michigan ruled this week that a law protecting girls from genital mutilation was unconstitutional. They called his decision a serious blow to girls' rights. Legal experts said the judge made clear that U.S. states have authority to ban the practice, though only about half do. Here is a look at the ruling, which dismissed several charges against a doctor accused of cutting nine girls in three states as part of a religious custom, and what could happen next. (Forliti, 11/23)
