State Senator Tonya Schuitmaker has co-sponsored legislation making female genital mutilation a felony in Michigan. She tells WSJM News the move comes in response to a couple of recent cases in which arrests were made based on federal laws.
“It stems from Michigan-based doctors who were arrested and charged for allegedly conspiring to perform FGM on minors, according to the U.S. Department of Justice,” Schuitmaker said.
Senator Schuitmaker tells us FGM is a “barbaric procedure.”
“I find it, quite honestly, child abuse and one of the worst things you could possibly do to a girl,” Schuitmaker said.
The legislation makes FGM a 15-year felony. 24 other states also ban the practice.
