It Happens Here...

Too often, we think of female mutilation as a problem in other countries. Unfortunately, this is simply untrue. This brutal practice has immigrated along with the people who have made their home in the United States. "It is far easier to convince Americans of the horrors of FGM than it is to persuade them that it is enough of a problem here to warrant action," says the Atlantic Online. This website is a wonderful resource on the issue of female circumcision in America.
For many families who have moved here, there is a struggle over whether to perform the ritual. One parent may wish to continue the tradition while the other parent objects to it. Often what we see then, is a parent who waits until the other is away, and then has the operation performed. In some instances, the parent will operate on the child. As the Atlantis Online talks about, fathers who have been recorded circumcising their own daughters, while the wife is out of the home.
Most of the focus, in America, has been on male circumcision. As cruel as this practice may seem, male circumcision has no serious long term effects. However, this has been given more attention. For most individual persons, a young girl being circumcised would be considered child abuse. For the legal system however, this is a cultural issue and something they struggle to intervene with.
American doctors are also finding themselves in a bind. On one hand, doctors are working hard to gain and retain rapport with their clients by respecting their cultural beliefs. On the other hand, these same doctors want to educate and help eradicate this harmful tradition. For the most part, we are all taught to respect and give room for other cultural practices. Arguably, this is one cultural practice America can not afford to respect.

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/fgm/fgm.htm