The Female Genital Mutilation Act

      In 1996 the U.S. Congress passed the Female Genital Mutilation Act, which, among other things, criminalizes circumcision of females under 18, requires federal health agencies to educate immigrants on health risks, and impose economic sanctions on countries that fail to take steps to prevent practices. While many Americans are in agreement with the law, do you believe a country has the right to impose sanctions on another country for practicing a religious belief? Why or why not? And, at what point is intervention from perhaps another country or the United Nations warranted? Finally, do you believe it is possible to balance the sometimes competing interests between religious legal tradition and the pressures posed by modernization? Please provide examples to support your assertions!