Policy Statement Renews Controversy Over U.S. Efforts To Address Female Genital Mutilation

A recent American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on female genital mutilation is drawing strong reactions from some human rights advocates and renewing debate over how U.S. physicians should address the issue with immigrant patients who seek genital cutting for their daughters, Time reports.

The policy statement urged physicians to inform parents that genital cutting has no medical purpose and many potential harms. It also changed AAP's language from "female genital mutilation" to "female genital cutting" (Luscombe, Time, 5/11).

AAP said that some doctors who work closely with immigrant populations in which FGM is endemic have noted that U.S. criminalization of FGM has led to adverse effects, including a concern that some families might send their daughters overseas for the ritual (Women's Health Policy Report, 5/7). The statement said, "It might be more effective if federal and state laws enabled pediatricians to reach out to families by offering a ritual nick as a possible compromise to avoid greater harm."

Dena Davis, the lead author of the policy statement and a professor at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, said, "We knew that it was a controversial idea." She added, "We knew simply making the language more neutral was highly controversial."

AAP acknowledges that it did not consult with communities that practice FGM about whether a ritual nick would be considered acceptable. Davis said that AAP does not have exact figures on "how many families take their daughters overseas" for FGM but that the group "heard anecdotally from doctors who had fears that it had happened."

The policy statement noted that many women from African countries strongly believe that any compromise on the issue "would legitimize even the most minimal procedure." However, the statement added that "in some countries where FGC is common, some progress toward eradication or amelioration has been made by substituting ritual nicks for more severe forms."

Taina Bien-Aime, executive director of the human rights group Equality Now, said, "Encouraging pediatricians to perform FGM under the notion of 'cultural sensitivity' shows a shocking lack of understanding of a girl's fundamental right to bodily integrity and equality." Bien-Aime added, "If foot-binding were still being carried out, would the AAP encourage pediatricians to execute a milder version of this practice?" (Time, 5/11).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.