The legal landscape for cutting children’s genitals is changing

As you probably know, in November 2018, a federal judge in Michigan declared the federal law prohibiting female genital mutilation (fgm) to be unconstitutional. In refusing to convict a group of defendants, including Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who participated in the genital cutting of three little girls, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said Congress “overstepped its bounds” in prohibiting the practice in 1996, adding that FGM is a “’local criminal activity’ which, in keeping with long-standing tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress.”

As of this writing, 28 states already have anti-fgm laws on their books. As a result of the ruling in Michigan, additional states are now rushing to get laws on their books to criminalize any genital cutting in girls under 18 years of age.

Ironically, these state laws are also ripe for being challenged as unconstitutional, especially if the states that implement them have any type of equal protection clause(s) in their respective constitutions. Yes, the conduct they seek to regulate is properly under states’ purview. But by denying equal protection to children who are not girls (i.e., boys and intersex children), they will be violating their own constitutions.

The action by state legislators provides a golden opportunity for those of us who want to see all children protected. Appropriately, intersex advocates have seized on this legislative opportunity by introducing bills in Iowa, Connecticut, and California that would criminalize cutting the genitals of an intersex child.

But what about boys? Unlike fgm, which sparks pretty much universal revulsion among Americans, both intersex “normalization” surgeries and “routine” infant male circumcision are embedded in current medical practice — and thus wear a cloak of legitimacy even though these surgeries are medically useless and violate the rights of the children who undergo them.

Nonetheless, the conversation is shifting dramatically. And here’s what you can do:

Routine infant circumcision is one of the most debated issues in the country right now. This means intactivists have a tremendous opportunity to join the conversation, spark discussion, and spread the message that routine circumcision is harmful, unnecessary, and unethical.

Supporters contact us regularly and ask how they can get involved. You can help the movement right now by sharing our websites and resources available at: IntactAmerica.org and CircumcisionDebate.org. You may also subscribe to our blog, follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), and offer your personal experiences with us through the "Voices" series.

You can and should take every opportunity to comment on articles and news items about genital cutting (female, intersex and male) in local and national newspapers, and in online media. Editors and publishers pay a lot of attention to feedback; if nobody responds to an article, they figure the topic isn’t of interest to the public, and they won’t cover it again. So, even a sentence or two offering the intactivist perspective will go a long way toward spreading the word.

Finally, for intactivists already taking part in these advocacy efforts, but who want to do more to help Intact America, you may be interested in making financial contributions.

Intact America is a part of the Hudson Center for Health Equity and Quality — a non-profit organization registered under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This means that there are several ways to make a tax-deductible donation to Intact America (consult your accountant for details)

Recurring donations

Automatic monthly donations are the best way to support Intact America. Your recurring donation affords Intact America the capacity to sustain our yearly campaigns and initiatives — helping us keep up the momentum toward the tipping point. Additionally, your monthly gifts help Intact America to budget for and uphold our basic operating expenses, website and public relations.

One-Time Donations

One-time donations provide indispensable support for Intact America's one-off efforts — projects, actions, petitions, surveys and events. During the year, our top donors issue a fundraising challenge to our staff in which they match every dollar we raise. These gift-match challenges provide opportunities to double the value of your donation.

Legacy Giving & Gifts of Stock 

More and more, we receive questions about how to name Intact America in a donor's will or as a beneficiary of an IRA, or other investments. We also have set up a brokerage account which allows us to receive gifts of appreciated stock. For more information on how to make these important gifts to the cause, contact Stephen Patterson at spatterson@intactamerica.org.

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If you shop on Amazon or have an Amazon Prime subscription, you may designate the Hudson Center for Health Equity and Quality (Intact America’s “parent” non-profit) as your AmazonSmile charity. Then, whenever you make a qualifying purchase on Amazon.com, a portion of the purchase will go to Intact America (all contributions that come through Amazon go straight to Intact America). This is an easy way for online shoppers to support Intact America at no extra cost. More details about AmazonSmile can be found below.

Every week, our YouTube curator and former Intactivist of the Month, Shelton Walden uploads both new and vintage clips related to circumcision in the United States and beyond.

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