The women's bar association
WBA Applauds MA Senate for Passing Bill Banning FGM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Nicole Forbes, President
Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
Margaret E. Talmers, Executive Director
Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
(617) 973-6666 | mtalmers@womensbar.org
WBA APPLAUDS MA SENATE FOR PASSING BILL BANNING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM)
BOSTON, MA - July 31, 2020 - The Women's Bar Association (WBA) of Massachusetts would like to thank MA Senate President Karen Spilka, bill sponsor Senator Joe Boncore (D-First Suffolk and Middlesex), and Senate members for today's passage of bill H4606 "An Act Relative to the Penalties for the Crime of Female Genital Mutiliation (FGM)" in Massachusetts. The MA House had passed the bill on July 16th, and now it goes to Governor Baker, who has 10 days to sign the bill. “Today, we are one step closer to the FGM bill becoming law. I am especially proud of the WBA members over the past few years including Deborah Benson, Joanne Golden, Jean Zeiler, Kate Symmonds, Danielle McCourt, Beth Muir Watters, Jessica Cruzzati-Flavius, as well as our WBA Legislative Policy Committee for their tireless advocacy on behalf of women and girls in Massachusetts,” said WBA President Nicole Forbes.
The WBA FGM taskforce, which began working in May 2013, drafted the legislation and filed it in the 2015-2016, 2017-2018, and 2019-2020 legislative sessions. The WBA also played an instrumental role in building widespread support in both the legislature and the community. The bill has over 100 House and Senate cosponsors and has also been supported by ~ 50 organizations, including the AHA Foundation, Sahiyo, UNICEF USA, the U.S. End FGM/C Network, Boston Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement, Office of the Child Advocate, MA Caucus of Women Legislators, American Academy of Pediatrics – Massachusetts Chapter, and American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – Massachusetts section.
FGM is defined by the World Health Organization as removal of all or part of a girls’ healthy sex organs and surrounding tissue for non-medical reasons, often resulting in serious health consequences, the risk of death in childbirth, and lifelong trauma. There are no health benefits to this practice. According to the Centers for Disease Control, half a million women and girls living in the United States have been cut or are at risk of FGM. Over fourteen thousand such women and girls reside in Massachusetts, which ranks our state as 12th in the nation for at-risk populations.
“This bill will help to ensure the physical and mental health of girls, which is essential to their ability to become successful women. Our hope is that this bill will change the lives of girls in Massachusetts,” said Forbes.
Thirty-eight states have already passed laws banning FGM, including during the shutdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. The WBA respectfully urges Governor Baker to sign H4606 into law so that Massachusetts can become number 39.
About the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
Founded in 1978 by a group of activist women lawyers, the Women’s Bar Association boasts a large membership of women lawyers, judges, policy makers, and law students across Massachusetts. The WBA is committed to the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society. The WBA works to achieve this mission through committees and events and by developing and promoting a legislative agenda to address society’s most critical social and legal issues. Other WBA activities include networking and professional development, drafting amicus briefs, studying employment issues affecting women, encouraging women to enter the judiciary, recognizing the achievement of women in the law, and providing pro bono services to women in need through its sister organization, the Women’s Bar Foundation. For more information, visit www.womensbar.org.
WOMEN’S BAR ASSOCIATION OF MASSACHUSETTS | 105 CHAUNCY STREET | BOSTON, MA 02111 | 617.973.6666