[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E70]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COLORADO JOINS STATES LEGISLATING AGAINST FGM

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 24, 1996

  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to report that Colorado has 
joined the growing ranks of States that are drawing up their own 
legislation to ban female genital mutilation [FGM]. In fact today 
Senator Dorothy Rupert, who sponsored the bill along with Senator Bill 
Thiebaut and Representative Glenda Swanson Lyle, is among lawmakers who 
are conducting hearings on the bill back in Denver.
  Their bill is similar to mine, H.R. 941, in that it has criminal and 
education components. It would make it a crime of child abuse to 
mutilate a child's genitalia, or allow it to be done, and would require 
the public health department to carry out education among communities 
that traditionally practice FGM, using private funds, grants, gifts, or 
donations.
  The education is essential, but so is the criminalization of this 
brutal act, which is done in the name of custom. As the Congressional 
Research Service has pointed out:

       While most states have laws which prohibit endangering the 
     welfare of a child or creating a substantial risk to the 
     health of a child, it is not clear whether these laws would 
     necessarily be interpreted to prohibit female genital 
     mutilation in all cases.

  So, we need explicit legislation, both on a State and Federal level.
  Senator Rupert tells me that she knows FGM is being practiced in 
Colorado because she gets anecdotal reports of it. And this has really 
been the problem with legislation such as this--because FGM takes place 
so covertly and the evidence of it is largely anecdotal, some people 
still don't want to believe it happens in this country. But if it 
doesn't, then why have Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and 
North Dakota introduced or passed their own legislation against it? And 
why do I get regular inquiries from other States that are interested? 
It's because it's happening here. It's high time we took our heads out 
of the sand and did something about it.

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