Michigan passes bill punishing doctors for female genital mutilation

Physicians involved in female genital mutilation could face up to 15 years in prison under legislation passed in Michigan, where the first-ever criminal case involving the practice is being prosecuted.

Jumana Nagarwala, MD, an emergency physician at Henry Ford Health System, was charged in April with performing the genital mutilation procedures on girls as young as 6 years old at a separate facility. The practice, encouraged by religious beliefs that genital cutting for women will “curb their sexuality in an attempt to reduce sexual pleasure and promiscuity,” has been illegal in the U.S. since 1996.

Nagarwala is facing a possible life sentence for the related charge of transportation of an individual with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, but the actual mutilation carries a maximum sentence of five years.

According to the Associated Press, the bill increases the max sentence to 15 years, which would apply both to medical professionals who perform the mutilation and to parents or others who knowingly facilitate the crime, including by transporting girls across state lines as was the case with Nagarwala.

The statute of limitations on criminal charges would be 10 years or by the alleged victim’s 21st birthday, whichever is later. Victims would also be able to sue physicians involved until their 28th birthday.

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