Only in America

For many years Amnesty International refused to acknowledge female genital cutting as mutilation. Female circumcision was legal in the U.S. and was covered by Blue Shield up until 1970s.

Finally, in 1996 The U.S. Congress passed a Law Banning Female Circumcision:

HR: 941 “Sec. 116. Female genital mutilation

“(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), whoever knowingly circumcises, excises, or infibulates the whole or any part of the labia majora or labia minora or clitoris of another person who has not attained the age of 18 years shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

This means 0 tolerance to religious Muslim ritual in this country;  any pricking or excision – even as minor as letting down one drop of blood – will put the parents to jail.

Double Standard: Male – the Disposable Gender

Why is female genitalia protected by law, venerated in arts and poetry, engaged in “vagina monologues” and male genitalia disposed in bio-hazardous waste in hospitals?  How many years it will take before the U.S. recognizes male genital cutting as mutilation? Will people ever see that there is in fact symmetry between male and female genital cutting? (Some forms of female cutting are much less severe than male circumcision).

Asymmetry #1. Baby boys do not have the same protection by law. When it comes to male cutting, it’s the parents’ right. When it comes to female cutting (no matter how light in form) it’s the state’s right.

Asymmetry # 2. Removing tissue from female genitalia is a health hazard. Removing tissue from male genitalia is a profound health measure.

How can this be? Embriologically they are the same tissue with same functions: protective, immunological, sexual.

Shouldn’t children, both male and female, have right to their full body and genitalia?

Gatto’s  Bill:  AB_768 is a Violation of Equal Protection:

Criminalizing female genital cutting and allowing male genital cutting is discriminatory. The international law including, Article 13 of the United Nations Charter, as well as Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.”

For those who think that male circumcision is minor procedure compared to female circumcision please take a look at the photos by clicking the link below. The photos are of explicit and graphic content – please use discretion.

Infant circumcision photos[explicit content - please use discretion]