genital mutilation news stories on Newser

CDC Must Stop Advocating Circumcision

Kevin Spak — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:54:13 CDT

Virtually everyone in the Western world seems to agree that female circumcision is horrible. It greatly reduces sexual pleasure, violates individual autonomy, and provides no discernible health benefits. Well, all that is true of male circumcision, too, writes Ethan Epstein, yet the CDC is considering a plan to “promote routine...

Scandinavia Battles Genital Mutilation

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:55:48 CDT

Scandinavian countries are hitting perpetrators of genital mutilation with heavy fines and prison sentences, even when the act is committed in other countries, Global Post reports. African and Middle Eastern immigrants who take their daughters abroad for genital mutilations—which are considered normal and even necessary in some cultures—are...

Texas Mom Gets 99 Years for Cutting Off Son's Genitals

Jason Farago — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:58:50 CDT

A Texas mother was sentenced to 99 years in prison last night for cutting off her infant son's genitals, an attack she blamed on the family's dog. Katherine Nadal, now 28, tested positive for cocaine, methadone, and Xanax the day after the mutilation. None of the baby's severed parts were...

After Family Axes Wedding Plan, Man Cuts Off Penis

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:34:57 CDT

A 25-year-old Egyptian man cut off his own penis to spite his family after he was refused permission to marry a girl from a lower class family, police reported today. After unsuccessfully petitioning his father for 2 years to marry the girl, the man heated up a knife and sliced...

Egypt Outlaws Female Genital Mutilation

Evelyn Renold — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:32:06 CDT

A legal loophole allowing girls to undergo genital cutting for "health reasons" has been eliminated in Egypt, strengthening an earlier ban. Seen as a rite of passage and a way to lessen sexual desire, the practice had been fairly widespread. But after a heavily sedated girl died during the operation,...