A federal judge dismissed charges Tuesday against two doctors and six others involved in the genital mutilation of nine girls at a Detroit clinic, and also declared a US law banning the practice unconstitutional.
US District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who performed the surgery, and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, who allowed his clinic in Livonia, Michigan, to be used for the procedure.
The same charges were dismissed against Attar's wife, Farida, and Tahera Shafiq, who assisted in the procedure, as well as four women who tricked their daughters into going to the suburban clinic to undergo the practice for religious purposes.
Four of the nine girls are from Michigan; the others are residents of Illinois and Minnesota.
Nagarwala also admitted she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the India-based Dawoodi Bohra. The remaining defendants are also apart of the sect.
Nagarwala pleaded not guilty last month to the two remaining charges she now faces.
She still faces conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and obstruction charges. Others in the case face obstruction charges.
Friedman argued in his 28-page opinion that Congress 'overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit female genital mutilation.'
He wrote: '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.
Michigan was the 26th US state to officially ban the practice, also known as female circumcision or cutting.
The state law was passed a few months after Nagarwala's April 2017 arrest.
Female genital mutilation has been condemned by the United Nations but is common for girls in some parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
'As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault. FGM is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce.
'The Commerce Clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature,' Friedman said.
A spokeswoman said Tuesday that the US attorney's office is currently reviewing Friedman's opinion.
Molly Blythe, a lawyer for Nagarwala, said in an email her team was thrilled about the ruling.
We are very excited about today's ruling, although the victory is bittersweet given we fully anticipated our client to be vindicated at trial on those charges,' Blythe said.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith also said she didn't think Friedman 'would rule in our favor.'
Smith filed a motion on behalf of Nagarwala to have the charges dismissed.
'When I first started researching, I was not sure how strong the motion would be, but I became more confident this would be the right result,' she said.
Smith said that if the ruling is appealed that 'we're hoping the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court agree that the 1996 law was unconstitutional.'
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM.
Genital mutilation charges dismissed in Detroit-area case | Daily Mail Online
US District Judge Bernard Friedman dismissed mutilation and conspiracy charges against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala, who performed the surgery, and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar, who allowed his clinic in Livonia, Michigan, to be used for the procedure.
The same charges were dismissed against Attar's wife, Farida, and Tahera Shafiq, who assisted in the procedure, as well as four women who tricked their daughters into going to the suburban clinic to undergo the practice for religious purposes.
Four of the nine girls are from Michigan; the others are residents of Illinois and Minnesota.
Nagarwala also admitted she performed a religious custom on girls from her Muslim sect, the India-based Dawoodi Bohra. The remaining defendants are also apart of the sect.
Nagarwala pleaded not guilty last month to the two remaining charges she now faces.
She still faces conspiracy to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and obstruction charges. Others in the case face obstruction charges.
Friedman argued in his 28-page opinion that Congress 'overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit female genital mutilation.'
He wrote: '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.
Michigan was the 26th US state to officially ban the practice, also known as female circumcision or cutting.
The state law was passed a few months after Nagarwala's April 2017 arrest.
Female genital mutilation has been condemned by the United Nations but is common for girls in some parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
'As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault. FGM is not part of a larger market and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce.
'The Commerce Clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature,' Friedman said.
A spokeswoman said Tuesday that the US attorney's office is currently reviewing Friedman's opinion.
Molly Blythe, a lawyer for Nagarwala, said in an email her team was thrilled about the ruling.
We are very excited about today's ruling, although the victory is bittersweet given we fully anticipated our client to be vindicated at trial on those charges,' Blythe said.
Defense attorney Shannon Smith also said she didn't think Friedman 'would rule in our favor.'
Smith filed a motion on behalf of Nagarwala to have the charges dismissed.
'When I first started researching, I was not sure how strong the motion would be, but I became more confident this would be the right result,' she said.
Smith said that if the ruling is appealed that 'we're hoping the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court agree that the 1996 law was unconstitutional.'
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM.
Genital mutilation charges dismissed in Detroit-area case | Daily Mail Online
