American Academy of Pediatrics Caves to Muslim Sensitivities
It was only a few months ago in my article Female Genital Mutilation As a Cultural Tradition that I complimented the American Academy of Pediatrics for taking a stand against Female Genital Mutilation.
Since July of 1998 this used to be the official policy of the AAP:
AAP, Policy Statement
Ritual Genital Cutting of Female MinorsThe AAP opposes all forms of FGM, counsels its members not to perform such ritual procedures, and encourages the development of community educational programs for immigrant populations.
I have just learned (with a tip of the turban 
to the blog Commonsense & Wonder: Disgraceful capitulation to the barbarians) that the AAP on 26 Apr 2010 changed it to:
AAP, Policy Statement
Ritual Genital Cutting of Female MinorsOpposes all forms of FGC that pose risks of physical or psychological harm.
...
Recommends that its members provide patients and their parents with compassionate education about the physical harms and psychological risks of FGC while remaining sensitive to the cultural and religious reasons that motivate parents to seek this procedure for their daughters.
Where the AAP once opposed all forms of FGM, they now add the disclaimer " that pose risks of physical or psychological harm." Why that minor change, you may ask?
So that the AAP can advocate for a “ritual nick.” A ritual nick is "pricking or incising the clitoral skin as sufficient to satisfy cultural requirements," where it is done because otherwise "parents who are denied the cooperation of a physician will send their girls back to their home country for a much more severe and dangerous procedure or use the services of a non-medically trained person in North America."
Ritual nicks are against US law, but the AAP wants federal and state laws changed to enable pediatricians "to reach out to families by offering a ritual nick as a possible compromise to avoid greater harm."
No, what we need is for federal and state laws changed so that Muslim parents who continues to practice barbaric cultural or religious traditions lose custody of their children. They are in America now; certainly we would never allow Aztecs to practice the sacrifice of virgins as they did centuries ago in order to be sensitive to their religious traditions. Why should we allow Muslims to be barbaric in our own country?
Shame on the American Academy of Pediatrics.
