(WHNS) South Carolina has become the 32nd state in the nation to criminalize the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). Gov. Henry McMaster signed H. 3973 into law yesterday.
Right here in the U.S., reports the national EndFGMToday campaign, over half a million girls, as young as the age of 5, are at risk for the brutal and unnecessary procedure.
The South Carolina bill was introduced by Rep. Heather Ammons Crawford and moved quickly through the legislative process — evidence that state lawmakers were committed to protecting women and girls in South Carolina from this cruel practice that is a form of child abuse, said internationally renowned attorney and child welfare advocate Elizabeth Yore, who heads EndFGMToday.
