Some Columbia University students would be supportive of Planned Parenthood funding female circumcision, according to a video released Tuesday by the anti-Islam group American Freedom Defense Initiative.
Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation, involves the removal of a woman’s clitoris, which reduces or eliminates the ability for a woman to achieve sexual pleasure. The practice is common within several Muslim-majority African countries. The number of women who have suffered from genital mutilation has tripled in the United States since 1990.
AFDI went on Columbia University’s campus and asked several individuals who they identify as students if they support Planned Parenthood practicing female genital mutilation. Almost every single student AFDI spoke to said they supported Planned Parenthood going through with the practice as it would be “pro-choice.”
One male student said “absolutely,” he would support Planned Parenthood being able to perform the process no matter the girl’s age. According to the World Health Organization, “[Female Genital Mutilation] is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15.”
The WHO says that more than 200 million girls and women have been circumcised around the world and that the practice has no health benefits.
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