The AHA Foundation applauds New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg for introducing our bill to prohibit female genital mutilation in New Jersey. New Jersey Senate Bill No. 1171 sends an important message that female genital mutilation is a serious crime and will not be tolerated in the state.

Currently, only 19 states have passed laws criminalizing female genital mutilation (“FGM”). Yet studies suggest that approximately 228,000 girls and women in the U.S. have either suffered FGM or are at risk. FGM has significant and lasting medical consequences for victims. Immediately following the procedure, girls are at risk for severe pain, shock, bleeding, bacterial infection, and injury to nearby tissue. In the long term, girls and women who have suffered this procedure are at risk for recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, cysts, infertility, and complications during intercourse and childbirth.

The AHA Foundation is committed to working with legislators in the remaining 30 states to enact laws banning FGM. For more information about FGM and our work on this issue, please visit our website: www.theahafoundation.org.

NJ Senator Weinberg Introduces AHA Foundation Bill Against Female Genital Mutilation