Thursday December 20, 2018
Ohio is on its way to joining 27 other states in prohibiting female genital mutilation of a minor one month after a federal judge in Michigan struck down the federal law banning the procedure, which critics call gender-based violence and a violation of fundamental human rights.
“Ohio is one of the few states in the Midwest that does not prohibit this,” said Sen. Lou Terhar, R-Cincinnati, a prime sponsor of Senate Bill 214, which the Senate passed unanimously Wednesday and sent to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.
The AHA Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for the end of female genital mutilation, forced marriages and honor killings, told Ohio legislators that of the estimated 513,000 women or girls who are at risk of or have undergone mutilation, more than 24,000 live in Ohio.
With the nation’s second-largest Somali population, the Columbus metro area ranks seventh among the nation’s metro areas in the number of girls at risk, according to AHA. The Ohio Department of Public Safety publishes a Guide to Somali Culture that dedicates four pages to female genital mutilation.
“This legislation will provide protections for girls in the state and will send a strong message that Ohio stands against FGM as a form of gender-based violence,” AHA wrote to legislators.
In November, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the 1996 federal law outlawing female genital mutilation, ruling that although the procedure is “essentially a criminal assault,” Congress does not have the power to regulate it under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
Under the Ohio bill, a person who performs female genital mutilation on a minor would face a second-degree felony punishable by eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine. It would not allow cultural necessity or the consent of the minor or a parent as a defense. It also would prohibit an Ohioan from taking a girl out of state to have the procedure performed.
A separate provision added to the bill would exempt videos, photos or digital images of victims of sex crimes from Ohio’s public-records law.
In other business, the Senate:
• Voted 24-8 for Senate Bill 255, which would set up a state process for allowing an individual convicted of a criminal offense to request a professional license. It also requires annual legislative reviews of state professional licensing boards to determine whether they should continue to operate or be revised. The bill goes to Kasich for his signature.
• Voted unanimously for House Bill 66, which would require schools to attempt to contact a parent or guardian within two hours if a student is absent without a legitimate excuse.
Sen. Sandra Williams, D-Cleveland, said the proposal was developed after 14-year-old Alianna DeFreeze went missing in January 2017 after boarding a public bus to go to school in Cleveland. Her mother was not notified by the school of Alianna’s absence until 4 p.m. that day, Williams said.
DeFreeze’s mutilated body was found three days later in an abandoned house. Her attacker, Christopher Whitaker, was given the death penalty.
The bill goes to the House for a final concurrence vote.
• Voted unanimously for Senate Bill 265, which is intended to reform a practice of the health insurance industry known as “step therapy” that requires patients to try medications cheaper than the one originally prescribed by a doctor.
“Ohioans will have increased protections when it comes to getting the medicines they need,” said Dr. Sarah Sams of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians.