AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate has authorized a late push in the Republican-controlled Legislature to ban genital mutilation in the country's largest conservative state.

Republican Sen. Jane Nelson is sponsoring the measure, which has been co-signed by the other seven women in the state Senate.

The deadline to file new bills has passed, but the Senate voted Tuesday to authorize the new bill and refer it to the powerful State Affairs Committee. Texas' legislative session ends May 29.

The bill follows a high-profile Michigan case where two doctors have been arrested and charged with performing the procedure on two 7-year-old girls.

Genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or cutting, is outlawed in the U.S. But the practice is common for girls in parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.