(Idaho Press) A bill to ban female genital mutilation of children in Idaho is one step closer to becoming law after receiving unanimous support Thursday in the Senate.
“This is one of the most delicate and personal bills we will hear, and it is also heartbreaking,” said co-sponsor Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene.
The proposed legislation, HB 114, would prohibit female genital mutilation, making it a felony punishable by up to life in prison. It now heads to the governor’s desk.
Female genital mutilation was criminalized under federal law in 1996. That law, however, didn’t include ways for states to enforce it.
