AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Several women who have lived through the painful procedure of genital mutilation want lawmakers to help put an end to the practice but offer different solutions.
The women were speaking about competing bills to create a new felony crime of female genital mutilation. One by a Republican lawmaker would also hold everyone involved in female circumcision accountable while a Democratic proposal would include funding for outreach efforts to immigrants.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or cutting, or FGM, has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in the United States. But the practice is common for girls in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The bills would make the practice a Class A crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
