Federal Judge Declares that Federal Law Banning Female Genital Mutilation is "Unconstitutional"

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is an appalling practice that has no place in this world.  I have personally read and watched the testimonies of women who had their genitals forcibly mutilated against their will and their testimony nearly made me physically ill.  Not only is the process extremely painful and dangerous, it's permanent.  Once it's done, it cannot be undone.  

FGM survivor Leyla Hussein of Somalia testified that every 11 seconds, a little girl is forced to undergo the horrific practice of FGM.  She, like many others have called for a world-wide ban on this ungodly practice.  Yet the question one must ask is this, "How can we ban this practice world-wide when we cannot even ban it in our own country?"

In what I can only call as the biggest judicial travesty since Dred Scott vs. Sandford (a horrific Supreme Court ruling that declared Congress did not have the authority to ban slavery, and no African residing in America, whether slave or free, could become an American citizen), Federal Court Judge Bernard Friedman declared that Congress did not have the authority to pass a Federal Law 22 years ago that that banned FGM nationwide and declared it a Federal Offense.  This case began when the FBI busted the Burhani Medical Clinic for illegally performing FGM on young, underage girls. Investigators learned that two of the young victims were only 7 and were brought by their parents to the clinic under the lie that they were taking a "special girls trip.

This ruling is a travesty.  That's the only way to describe it.  Twenty-six states already ruled that this practice violates state law, and 30 other nations have also banned the horrific practice.  Unfortunately, the perpetrators know that there are some states that do not ban the practice by law and take the young girls to these other states in order to perform this practice and escape prosecution.  This is why Federal Law is necessary to ensure that this practice is not permitted anywhere.  Yet in a clear case of political correctness gone insane, this judge has declared that Congress has no authority to ban a barbaric practice that he himself admits to opposing.  

If there is a ever a time for the masses to unite, men and women, feminists and non-feminists, human rights activists and people who simply have a sense of decency, this is the time.  This judges ruling is not only a travesty, it is a slap in the face to every girl in the world who is forced to undergo this practice and it is a serious threat to the world-wide movement to end this horrific practice once and for all.  We need to unite against this ungodly ruling and start fighting for all governments, local, state, and federal to unite in one voice and say "Female Genital Mutilation Will Not be Allowed in Our Country!"

Sources:

Baldas, Tresa.  "Judge Dismissed Female Genital Mutilation Charges in Historic Case."  Detroit Free Press.  November 20th, 2018.  Accessed from https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ michigan/detroit/2018/11/20/female-genital-mutilation-michigan/1991712002/.

Belluck, Pam.  "Federal Ban on Female Genital Mutilation Ruled Unconstitutional by Judge."  The New York Times.  November 21, 2018.  Accessed from  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/health/fgm-female-genital-mutilation-law.html.

"FGM Survivor: Leyla Hussein's Story."  Global Citizen.  YouTube: 3:25.  Published February 6th, 2018.  Accessed from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKT1MX-RnmU.

Mikelionis, Lukas.  "Law Banning Female Genital Mutilation Ruled Unconstitutional; Michigan Doctors Cleared of Charges.  Fox News.  November 21, 2018.  Accessed from  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-rules-law-banning-female-genital-mutilation-is-unconstitutional-dismisses-charges-again-michigan-doctors.

Moghe, Sonia.  "Three U.S. Women Share the Horrors of Female Genital Mutilation."  CNN.  May 11, 2017.  Accessed from https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/11/health/fgm-us-survivor-stories-trnd/index.html.  

Schmidt, Samantha.  "Judge Rules that Federal Law Banning Female Genital Mutilation is Unconstitutional."  The Washington Post.  November 21, 2018.  Accessed from  https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/judge-rules-that-federal-law-banning-female-genital-mutilation-is-unconstitutional/2018/11/21/a9455728-edd2-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html?utm_term=.8cb9751d0a88.