Michigan State Senate unanimously approved legislation by State Rep. Peter Lucido to allow the termination of parental rights for anyone who forces their child to undergo a female genital mutilation (FGM).
The procedure is intended to remove or damage the external genitalia. Anyone convicted may be brought in for a separate legal hearing to determine the child’s best interest.
“Nobody who forces their child to undergo an FGM should be legally allowed to continue to be a parent to that child because they are clearly not concerned with the well-being of their own flesh and blood,” Rep. Lucido said, vice chair of the House Law and Justice Committee. “Children who go through this barbaric act are brutalized mentally and physically, which is not justified for being a parent.”
The bill follows a seven-bill bipartisan legislative package signed into law in June. Rep. Lucido voted in support of the package and believes a conviction should have an added penalty for a parent or guardian.
The state says the legislation is inspired by a February 2017 incident where two young girls from Minnesota were subjected to the procedure at a southeast Michigan clinic.
A Livonia couple was arrested on federal charges in April after performing their medical clinic, while a third individual has been fired from their emergency room doctor position for performing the procedure at the same Livonia clinic.
The legislation now goes to Gov. Rick Snyder for review.