Female Genital Mutilation: When a Cultural Practice Generates Clinical and Ethical Dilemmas

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is of growing concern to health care providers in the United States and Canada as more women from countries where the procedure is practiced emigrate to North America. An introduction to the demographics of FGM, including prevalence rates, is a necessary antecedent for understanding the cultural rationales for this widespread practice. Considering the health consequences of this practice promotes questions about legal and ethical aspects of care as North Americans approach FGM from their own individual cultural frameworks.