Religious defense planned in landmark Detroit genital mutilation case
Tresa Baldas , Detroit Free Press Published 11:25 p.m. ET May 20, 2017 | Updated 9:42 a.m. ET May 21, 2017
What is female genital mutilation?
Millions of little girls and young women have been subjected to a painful rite of passage that involves cutting their genitals — often without anesthesia — for centuries in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Detroit Free Press
Lawyers plan to claim genital cutting is allowed as a religious right. But legal experts say the First Amendment doesn't bend that far.
On paper, the law seems clear: Cutting any part of a young girl's genitalia is illegal — and no custom or ritual can be used to justify it.
The law has been on the books for 21 years, unchallenged.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/2017/05/21/female-genital-mutilation-religious-freedom/319911001/