US Gynecologists Suggest Less Invasive Female Genital Mutilation, Draws Backlash From Medical Community

Gynecologists in the US have been criticized by their international colleagues for suggesting less invasive forms of Female Genital Mutilation. Most experts in the medical community want to abolish all types of FGM as the procedure pose a major health threat to women.

American doctors explained in the Journal of Medical Ethics that minimal procedures to a woman's genitalia should be tolerated in order to preserve religious and cultural traditions in some countries. Several women's groups heavily opposed the proposal since it would impede the global efforts to curb FGM, as per Fox News.

Adwoa Kwateng-Kluvitse, an Anti-FGM advocate, scoffed at the suggestion which aims to standardize the procedure. She believes the cruel ritual, and all its forms, is a grave violation of a child's rights.

"Why would you put a little girl through that? There should be no medicalization of FGM," Kwateng-Kluvitse asserted. "They (the gynecologists) are completely behind the times."

Bioethicist Ruth Macklin from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine told CNN News that not all cultural traditions merit preservation. She said FGM is mostly done in patriarchal communities as a way to control female sexuality.

Brian Earp, a medical scholar, stated that tolerating less invasive types of FGM not only pose a global health problem but a technical dilemma as well. He questioned the American doctors as to who would be responsible in supervising such procedures.

In their defense, the gynecologists backed their proposal by saying the global legislation prohibiting FGM has stalled, causing some groups to practice the ritual in secret.

"We are not arguing that any procedure on the female genitalia is desirable," they furthered. "Rather, we only argue that certain procedures ought to be tolerated by liberal societies."

According to estimates by the United Nations, approximately 200 million women have undergone FGM in 30 different countries. The procedure often involves the removal of a woman's external genitalia. In lesser cases, a woman's clitoris is either cut off or pricked.