Legislation against Female Genital Mutilation Debate
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John Bercow
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Legislation against Female Genital Mutilation
John Bercow Excerpts(5 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
That is a difficult choice. I believe the hon. Member for Hendon is a doctor. Let us hear from the fella.
Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)
Unfortunately, Mr Speaker, not a medical doctor.
Dr Offord
That is correct.
I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Minister for making a statement today. I also welcome that she does not see a moral equivalence between brit milah and female genital mutilation. There is no moral equivalence between the two. I urge her to bring forward legislation as soon as possible, because I would like to hear the reasons why my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) opposed the Bill. I do not believe it is sustainable to say, “I objected to the Bill because of procedure rather than its content.” Let us bring forward a Bill as quickly as possible so that not only can we hear that defence but, more importantly, we can hear the will of the House by taking a vote on the issue.