Text of US HB 3492 (2025)

I 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3492 To amend section 116 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to genital and bodily mutilation and chemical castration of minors. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2025 Ms. GREENE of Georgia (for herself, Mr. CRANE, Mr. FINSTAD, Mrs. LUNA, Mrs. BICE, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. MCGUIRE, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mr. BIGGS of Arizona, Mr. BURLISON, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. HIG- GINS of Louisiana, Mr. BRECHEEN, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. HARRIS of Maryland, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. HERN of Oklahoma, Mr. COLLINS, Mr. OGLES, Mr. BABIN, Mr. CLYDE, Ms. DE LA CRUZ, Ms. HAGEMAN, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALMER, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. MILLER of Ohio, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. MOORE of West Virginia, Mr. COMER, Mr. GILL of Texas, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. MCDOWELL, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, and Mr. GOODEN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend section 116 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to genital and bodily mutilation and chemical castration of minors. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Children’s In- 4 nocence Act of 2025’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3492 IH SEC. 2. GENITAL AND BODILY MUTILATION OF A MINOR; 1 CHEMICAL CASTRATION OF A MINOR. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 116 of title 18, United 3 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘§ 116. Genital and bodily mutilation of a minor; 5 chemical castration of a minor 6 ‘‘(a) GENITAL OR BODILY MUTILATION.—Except as 7 provided in subsection (g), whoever, in any circumstance 8 described in subsection (d), knowingly performs, or at- 9 tempts to perform, genital or bodily mutilation on another 10 person who is a minor, shall be fined under this title, im- 11 prisoned not more than 10 years, or both. 12 ‘‘(b) CHEMICAL CASTRATION OF A MINOR.—Except 13 as provided in subsection (g), whoever, in any cir- 14 cumstance described in subsection (d), knowingly chemi- 15 cally castrates a minor shall be fined under this title, im- 16 prisoned not more than 10 years, or both. 17 ‘‘(c) CERTAIN OFFENSE RELATED TO FEMALE GEN- 18 ITAL MUTILATION.—Except as provided in subsection (g), 19 whoever, in any circumstance described in subsection (d), 20 knowingly— 21 ‘‘(1) facilitates or consents to female genital 22 mutilation of a minor; or 23 ‘‘(2) transports a minor for the purpose of the 24 performance of female genital mutilation on such 25 minor, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3492 IH shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 10 years, or both. 2 ‘‘(d) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—For the pur- 3 poses of subsections (a) and (b), the circumstances de- 4 scribed in this subsection are that— 5 ‘‘(1) the defendant or victim traveled in inter- 6 state or foreign commerce, or traveled using a 7 means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of inter- 8 state or foreign commerce, in furtherance of or in 9 connection with the conduct described in subsection 10 (a) or (b); 11 ‘‘(2) the defendant used a means, channel, fa- 12 cility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign 13 commerce in furtherance of or in connection with 14 the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b); 15 ‘‘(3) any payment of any kind was made, di- 16 rectly or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connec- 17 tion with the conduct described in subsection (a) or 18 (b) using any means, channel, facility, or instrumen- 19 tality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or af- 20 fecting interstate or foreign commerce; 21 ‘‘(4) the defendant transmitted in interstate or 22 foreign commerce any communication relating to or 23 in furtherance of the conduct described in subsection 24 (a) or (b) using any means, channel, facility, or in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3492 IH strumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in 1 or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any 2 means or in manner, including by computer, mail, 3 wire, or electromagnetic transmission; 4 ‘‘(5) any instrument, item, substance, or other 5 object that has traveled in interstate or foreign com- 6 merce was used to perform the conduct described in 7 subsection (a) or (b); 8 ‘‘(6) the conduct described in subsection (a) or 9 (b) occurred within the special maritime and terri- 10 torial jurisdiction of the United States, or any terri- 11 tory or possession of the United States; or 12 ‘‘(7) the conduct described in subsection (a) or 13 (b) otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or 14 foreign commerce. 15 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN DEFENSE.—It shall 16 not be a defense to a prosecution under subsection (a) that 17 female genital mutilation is required as a matter of reli- 18 gion, custom, tradition, ritual, or standard practice. 19 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON PROSECUTION OF VICTIM.— 20 No person who is chemically castrated or on whom genital 21 or bodily mutilation is performed may be arrested or pros- 22 ecuted for an offense under this section. 23 ‘‘(g) EXCEPTIONS.— 24 ‘‘(1) PROCEDURES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3492 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Genital or bodily mu- 1 tilation or chemical castration is not a violation 2 of this section if such genital or bodily mutila- 3 tion or chemical castration is— 4 ‘‘(i) necessary to the health of the 5 minor on whom it is conducted, and is con- 6 ducted by a person licensed in the place of 7 such conduct as a medical practitioner; or 8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of female genital mu- 9 tilation, performed on a minor in labor or 10 who has just given birth and is performed 11 for medical purposes connected with that 12 labor or birth by a person licensed in the 13 place it is performed as a medical practi- 14 tioner, midwife, or person in training to 15 become such a practitioner or midwife. 16 ‘‘(B) HEALTH OF A MINOR.—For the pur- 17 poses of subparagraph (A), the health of a 18 minor does not include a mental health dis- 19 order. 20 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION.—Genital or bodily mutilation 21 or chemical castration is not a violation of this sec- 22 tion if such genital or bodily mutilation or chemical 23 castration is conducted with respect to any of the 24 following individuals: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3492 IH ‘‘(A) An individual with both ovarian and 1 testicular tissue. 2 ‘‘(B) An individual with respect to whom a 3 physician has determined through genetic or 4 biochemical testing that the individual does not 5 have normal sex chromosome structure, sex 6 steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hor- 7 mone action. 8 ‘‘(C) An individual experiencing infection, 9 disease, injury, or disorder caused or exacer- 10 bated by previous gender transition procedures. 11 ‘‘(D) An individual suffering from a phys- 12 ical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness 13 that would, as certified by a physician, place 14 the individual in imminent danger of impair- 15 ment of a major bodily function unless the pro- 16 cedure is performed. 17 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 ‘‘(1) GENITAL OR BODILY MUTILATION.—The 19 term ‘genital or bodily mutilation’ means, with re- 20 spect to an individual, any of the following: 21 ‘‘(A) Female genital mutilation. 22 ‘‘(B) Any surgery performed for the pur- 23 pose of changing the body of such individual to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3492 IH correspond to a sex that differs from their bio- 1 logical sex, including— 2 ‘‘(i) castration; 3 ‘‘(ii) orchiectomy; 4 ‘‘(iii) scrotoplasty; 5 ‘‘(iv) vasectomy; 6 ‘‘(v) hysterectomy; 7 ‘‘(vi) oophorectomy; 8 ‘‘(vii) ovariectomy; 9 ‘‘(viii) metoidioplasty; 10 ‘‘(ix) penectomy; 11 ‘‘(x) phalloplasty; 12 ‘‘(xi) vaginoplasty; 13 ‘‘(xii) vaginectomy; 14 ‘‘(xiii) vulvoplasty; 15 ‘‘(xiv) reduction thyrochondroplasty; 16 ‘‘(xv) chondrolaryngoplasty; and 17 ‘‘(xvi) mastectomy. 18 ‘‘(C) Any plastic surgery that feminizes or 19 masculinizes the facial features for the purposes 20 described in subparagraph (B). 21 ‘‘(D) Any placement of chest implants to 22 create feminine breasts for the purposes de- 23 scribed in subparagraph (B). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3492 IH ‘‘(E) Any placement of fat or artificial im- 1 plants in the gluteal region for the purposes de- 2 scribed in subparagraph (B). 3 ‘‘(2) CHEMICAL CASTRATION.—The term 4 ‘chemical castration’ means administering, sup- 5 plying, prescribing, dispensing, distributing, or oth- 6 erwise conveying to an individual medications for the 7 purposes described in paragraph (1)(B), including— 8 ‘‘(A) gonadotropin-releasing hormone 9 (GnRH) analogues or other puberty-blocking 10 drugs to stop or delay normal puberty; 11 ‘‘(B) testosterone or other androgens to bi- 12 ological females at doses that are 13 supraphysiologic to the female sex; and 14 ‘‘(C) estrogen to biological males at doses 15 that are supraphysiologic to the male sex. 16 ‘‘(3) BIOLOGICAL SEX.—The term ‘biological 17 sex’ means the indication of male or female sex by 18 reproductive potential or capacity, sex chromosomes, 19 naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, or inter- 20 nal or external genitalia present at birth. 21 ‘‘(4) FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.—The 22 term ‘female genital mutilation’ means any proce- 23 dure performed for non-medical reasons that in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3492 IH volves partial or total removal of, or other injury to, 1 the external female genitalia, and includes— 2 ‘‘(A) a clitoridectomy or the partial or total 3 removal of the clitoris or the prepuce or clitoral 4 hood; 5 ‘‘(B) excision or the partial or total re- 6 moval (with or without excision of the clitoris) 7 of the labia minora or the labia majora, or 8 both; 9 ‘‘(C) infibulation or the narrowing of the 10 vaginal opening (with or without excision of the 11 clitoris); or 12 ‘‘(D) other procedures that are harmful to 13 the external female genitalia, including prick- 14 ing, incising, scraping, or cauterizing the gen- 15 ital area. 16 ‘‘(5) MINOR.—The term ‘minor’ means any per- 17 son under the age of eighteen years.’’. 18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 19 for chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 20 by striking the item related to section 116 and inserting 21 the following: 22 ‘‘116. Genital and bodily mutilation of a minor; chemical castration of a minor.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3492.IH H3492 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS