Excerpt:
A practice that the World Health Organization calls a violation of human rights could soon be outlawed in New Jersey.
The state Assembly today plans a vote on a bill (S1171) that would ban female genital mutilation on minors.
The AHA Foundation – a group founded by a victim of mutilation that drafted the model legislation – said the procedure is typically practiced on girls age 4 to 14 to "ensure their virginity until marriage." The foundation said that, while genital mutilation has no basis in Islamic scripture, it is practiced mainly in Muslim communities.