LCO No. 5531 1 of 2
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1069
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 5531
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING FE MALE GENITAL MUTILAT ION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) The Commissioner of Public 1
Health, in consultation with staff at The Women's Center at The 2
University of Connecticut Health Center, shall conduct a study of 3
female genital mutilation in this state and report the results of such 4
study in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 5
statutes to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly 6
having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary and public health 7
not later than February 1, 2021. 8
(b) As part of such study, the Commissioner of Public Health shall 9
identify any public health intervention that might result in the 10
elimination of any procedure conducted as part of the practice of female 11
genital mutilation by evaluating peer-reviewed medical literature 12
concerning the practice in the United States and other countries in which 13
women are affected by female genital mutilation. The study shall (1) 14
identify knowledge and training concerning communication, cultural 15
competence, clinical identification of female genital mutilation, clinical 16
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management practices and service configuration necessary to counsel 17
women affected by female genital mutilation, and (2) evaluate the effects 18
of banning female genital mutilation on women seeking reproductive 19
and maternal health services, including prenatal care. 20
(c) For purposes of this section, "female genital mutilation" means any 21
procedure involving partial or total removal of the external female 22
genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for nonmedical 23
reasons, including, but not limited to, piercing, cutting, removing or 24
sewing closed all or part of a girl's or woman's external genitalia. 25
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To study and recommend ways to identify public health interventions
that might result in the elimination of any procedure conducted as part
of the practice of female genital mutilation.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]