Legal / Ethical Issues in Nursing

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses female genital mutilation, or 'circumcision' and states that it is a deeply-rooted cultural and religious practice found in African countries,parts of the Middle East and Asia. The paper states that the custom, although seemingly barbaric to many westernized countries, is seen as a rite of passage into womanhood, as making a young woman marriageable, as a means to curb sexual desire among adolescents before marriage, and as a protection for virginity. The paper then gives insights into the medical complications it causes, the ethical considerations nurses face regarding the procedure and argues that nurses have a legal and ethical obligation to ensuring that these young girls and adolescent females are protected from undergoing a procedure that will change their lives forever.

From the Paper:

"As Muslim women living in a third world country, 90% of northern Sudanese women are subjected to FGM as a cultural and religious rite of passage (Almroth et al., 2005, p.385). Girls may be circumcised at any time from infancy through adolescence, and even occasionally as mature adults. As a result, these women bring with them a unique set of potentially serious medical consequences with regard to obstetric and gynecological care when they enter the healthcare system in the United States. These consequences include not only shock and hemorrhage in the short term, but infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease in the long term. Therefore, these women must be assessed with both medical and cultural sensitivity when they are accessing the health care system."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Almroth, L., Elmusharaf, S., El Hadi, N., Obeid, A., El Sheikh, M.A.A., Elfadil, S.M., &
• Bergstrom, S. (2005). Primary infertility after genital mutilation in girlhood in Sudan:a case-control study. Lancet, 366(9483), pp.385-391. Retrieved November 10, 2005 from Ebsco CINAHL, http://hartness.vsc.edu
• Shaaban, L.M., & Harbison, S. (2005). Reaching the tipping point against female genital mutilation. Lancet, 366(9483), pp.347-349. Retrieved November 10, 2005 from Ebsco CINAHL, http://hartness.vsc.edu
• Walker, A. and Parmar, P. (1993). Warrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Women. London: Jonathan Cape.
• Wild, S. (2005, June) Independent Nurse: Professional-Women's health -Tackling female genital mutilation. GP: General Practitioner, pp.122-126. Retrieved November 4, 2004 from Ebsco CINAHL, http://hartness.vsc.edu

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