Female circumcision: Difference between revisions

  | accessdate=2011-09-27

}}</ref><ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> the reasoning being that female circumcision had symbolic or ceremonial aspects for many parents,<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> and offering a "ritual nick" might dissuade parents that were resolute, from sending their daughters to their home countries,<ref>{{REFnews

  | last=Luscombe

  | accessdate=2011-09-27

}}</ref> The AAP had deviated from a much more forceful statement published in 1998, which unequivocally condemned FGC in any form.<ref>{{REFjournal

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The AAP's endorsement of a "ritual nick" sparked a backlash<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> which was swift and universally negative. The AAP's recommendation had been perceived by many as a tacit endorsement of the "ritual nick," and an effort to appease parents who threatened to subject their daughters to worse procedures.<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> In short, the AAP was forced to retract its endorsement, and on May 1, Judith Palfrey, President of the AAP, released a statement that read in part, “the AAP does not endorse the practice of offering a ‘clitoral nick’. This minimal pinprick is forbidden under federal law and the AAP does not recommend it to its members”.<ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> Palfrey reiterated this stance in an interview with The Lancet, saying “we want to make it clear to the international community we are opposed to any form of female genital cutting, and that includes the ritual nick.” <ref>{{REFjournal

}}</ref> The AAP has since withdrawn the committee's report and has rewritten it completely.<ref>{{REFjournal

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FGC consists of several distinct procedures. Their severity is often viewed as dependent on how much genital tissue is cut away. The WHO—which uses the term Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)—divides the procedure into four major types<ref name = "WHO - Terminology"/> (see Diagram 1), although there is some debate as to whether all common forms of FGM fit into these four categories, as well as issues with the reliability of reported data.<ref name="Elmusharaf_2006">{{REFjournal

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