A federal judge dismissed charges against several adults, including two doctors, who allegedly performed female genital mutilation on several young girls in Michigan.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman dropped charges against Jumana Nagarwala, a doctor accused of operating on at least nine girls aged 7 to 12 years old, because he deemed the federal female genital mutilation ban unconstitutional, reports The Detroit Free Press. Charges against Dr. Fakhuruddin Attar, who owned the clinic where the girls were cut, his wife, Farida Attar, and the parents of one of the girls were also dropped.

Friedman argued the ban is unenforceable because it violates states’ rights.

"As laudable as the prohibition of a particular type of abuse of girls may be … federalism concerns deprive Congress of the power to enact this statute," Friedman wrote in his opinion. "Congress overstepped its bounds by legislating to prohibit FGM … FGM is a 'local criminal activity' which, in keeping with long-standing tradition and our federal system of government, is for the states to regulate, not Congress."

The judge said he believes the only exception to the law is in instances of interstate commerce and healthcare. Friedman ruled this case doesn’t fall under either of those categories.

"There is nothing commercial or economic about FGM," Friedman continued. "As despicable as this practice may be, it is essentially a criminal assault. … FGM is not part of a larger market, and it has no demonstrated effect on interstate commerce. The commerce clause does not permit Congress to regulate a crime of this nature."

Twenty-seven states have passed laws banning FGM, including Michigan. Michigan’s bill, which was passed after the case was filed, carries a maximum of 15 years in prison, while the federal maximum is only five years. As the law went on the books after the case began, the defendants cannot be retroactively charged under it.

Michigan state Senator Rick Jones, who co-sponsored the state ban, was outraged by the decision, according to NPR.

"I'm angry that the federal judge dismissed this horrific case that affected upwards of a hundred girls who were brutally victimized and attacked against their will,” Jones said in a statement.

"This is why it was so important for Michigan to act," the senator added. "We set a precedent that female genital mutilation will not be tolerated here, and we did so by passing a state law that comes with a 15-year felony punishment. I hope other states will follow suit."

The defense team considered the ruling a victory.

"Dr. Nagarwala is just a wonderful human being. She was always known as a doctor with an excellent reputation," said Shannon Smith, Nagarwala’s attorney. "The whole community was shocked when this happened. She's always been known to be a stellar doctor, mother, person."

Nagarwala was charged in April 2017 for purportedly cutting the girls in Attar’s clinic, according to NPR. She performed the procedure on four Michigan girls and five other girls who were driven in from Illinois and Minnesota. Two mothers supposedly tricked them into taking the trip by telling them it was a girl’s weekend. The defendants are members of Dawoodi Bohra, an Indian sect that believes female circumcision is a rite of passage.

In court papers, Nagarwala said her procedures "did not involve the clitoris or labia.”

However, a medical examination of one of the girls determined the child’s “labia minora has been altered or removed, and her clitoral hood is also abnormal in appearance.”

One girl positively identified Nagarwala and said the ritual was supposed to “to get the germs out” of her body. Another girl said she received a “shot” that made it difficult for her to walk, and her parents instructed her to keep the cutting a secret. One girl was supposedly given ground up Valium in liquid Tylenol for sedation.

Nagarwala still faces obstruction and conspiracy charges that carry maximum terms of 20 and 30 years, respectively. She will go to trial in April 2019. The Attars still face obstruction charges.

Gina Balaya, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said the government is currently deciding whether it will appeal the decision.

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Michigan FGM case

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