[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1132-S1133]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4425. Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself and Mr. Tuberville) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 4420 proposed by Mr.
Thune (for Mr. Schmitt) to the bill S. 1383, to establish the Veterans
Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
Strike title III and insert the following:
TITLE III--SAVE AMERICAN CHILDREN
SEC. 301. GENITAL AND BODILY MUTILATION OF A MINOR; CHEMICAL
CASTRATION OF A MINOR.
(a) In General.--Section 116 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 116. Genital and bodily mutilation of a minor;
chemical castration of a minor
``(a) Genital or Bodily Mutilation.--Except as provided in
subsection (g), whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (d), knowingly performs, or attempts to perform,
genital or bodily mutilation on another person who is a
minor, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more
than 10 years, or both.
``(b) Chemical Castration of a Minor.--Except as provided
in subsection (g), whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (d), knowingly chemically castrates a minor shall
be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years,
or both.
``(c) Certain Offense Related to Female Genital
Mutilation.--Except as provided in subsection (g), whoever,
in any circumstance described in subsection (d), knowingly--
``(1) facilitates or consents to female genital mutilation
of a minor; or
``(2) transports a minor for the purpose of the performance
of female genital mutilation on such minor,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10
years, or both.
``(d) Circumstances Described.--For the purposes of
subsections (a) and (b), the circumstances described in this
subsection are that--
``(1) the defendant or victim traveled in interstate or
foreign commerce, or traveled using a means, channel,
facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign
commerce, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct
described in subsection (a) or (b);
``(2) the defendant used a means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in
furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in
subsection (a) or (b);
``(3) any payment of any kind was made, directly or
indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the
conduct described in subsection (a) or (b) using any means,
channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce or in interstate or foreign commerce;
``(4) the defendant transmitted in interstate or foreign
commerce any communication relating to or in furtherance of
the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b) using any
means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce or in interstate or foreign commerce by any
means or in manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or
electromagnetic transmission;
``(5) any instrument, item, substance, or other object that
has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce was used to
perform the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b);
``(6) the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b)
occurred within the special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or
possession of the United States; or
``(7) the conduct described in subsection (a) or (b)
otherwise occurred in interstate or foreign commerce.
``(e) Prohibition on Certain Defense.--It shall not be a
defense to a prosecution under subsection (a) that female
genital mutilation is required as a matter of religion,
custom, tradition, ritual, or standard practice.
``(f) Prohibition on Prosecution of Victim.--No person who
is chemically castrated or on whom genital or bodily
mutilation is performed may be arrested or prosecuted for an
offense under this section.
``(g) Exceptions.--
``(1) Procedures.--
``(A) In general.--Genital or bodily mutilation or chemical
castration is not a violation of this section if such genital
or bodily mutilation or chemical castration is--
``(i) necessary to the health of the minor on whom it is
conducted, and is conducted by a person licensed in the place
of such conduct as a medical practitioner; or
``(ii) in the case of female genital mutilation, performed
on a minor in labor or who has just given birth and is
performed for medical purposes connected with that labor or
birth by a person licensed in the place it is performed as a
medical practitioner, midwife, or person in training to
become such a practitioner or midwife.
``(B) Health of a minor.--For the purposes of subparagraph
(A), the health of a minor does not include--
``(i) mental, behavioral, or emotional distress; or
``(ii) a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder.
``(2) Exemption.--Genital or bodily mutilation or chemical
castration is not a violation of this section if such genital
or bodily mutilation or chemical castration is conducted with
respect to any of the following individuals:
``(A) An individual with both ovarian and testicular
tissue.
``(B) An individual with respect to whom a physician has
determined through genetic or biochemical testing that the
individual does not have normal sex chromosome structure, sex
steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action.
``(C) An individual experiencing infection, disease,
injury, or disorder caused or exacerbated by a previous
genital or bodily mutilation procedure or chemical
castration.
``(D) An individual suffering from a physical disorder,
physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified
by a physician, place the individual in imminent danger of
impairment of a major bodily function unless the procedure is
performed.
``(E) An individual diagnosed with precocious puberty, to
the extent such genital or bodily mutilation or chemical
castration is for the purpose of normalizing puberty.
``(h) Civil Action.--
``(1) In general.--Any individual on whom a genital or
bodily mutilation was performed in violation of this section
may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of
the United States against the person who performed,
facilitated, or otherwise caused the violation.
``(2) Relief.--In a civil action brought under this
subsection, the court may award--
``(A) compensatory damages;
``(B) punitive damages;
``(C) reasonable attorney's fees and costs; and
``(D) any other appropriate relief.
``(3) Limitation period.--An action under this subsection
may be brought not later than 20 years after the date on
which the individual reaches 18 years of age.
``(i) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Chemical castration.-- The term `chemical castration'
means administering, supplying, prescribing, dispensing,
distributing, or otherwise conveying to an individual
medications for the purposes described in paragraph (1)(B),
including--
``(A) gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues or
other puberty-blocking drugs to stop or delay normal puberty;
and
``(B) testosterone, estrogen, or other androgens to an
individual at doses that are higher than would normally be
produced endogenously in a healthy individual of the same age
and sex.
``(2) Female.--The term `female' means a person who
naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a
congenital anomaly, historical accident, or intentional or
unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at
some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for
fertilization.
``(3) Female genital mutilation.--The term `female genital
mutilation' means any procedure performed for non-medical
reasons that involves partial or total removal of, or other
injury to, the external female genitalia, and includes--
[[Page S1133]]
``(A) a clitoridectomy or the partial or total removal of
the clitoris or the prepuce or clitoral hood;
``(B) excision or the partial or total removal (with or
without excision of the clitoris) of the labia minora or the
labia majora, or both;
``(C) infibulation or the narrowing of the vaginal opening
(with or without excision of the clitoris); or
``(D) other procedures that are harmful to the external
female genitalia, including pricking, incising, scraping, or
cauterizing the genital area.
``(4) Genital or bodily mutilation.--The term `genital or
bodily mutilation' means, with respect to an individual, any
of the following:
``(A) Female genital mutilation.
``(B) Any surgery performed for the purpose of
intentionally changing the body of such individual (including
by disrupting the body's development, inhibiting its natural
functions, or modifying its appearance) to no longer
correspond to the individual's sex, including--
``(i) castration;
``(ii) orchiectomy;
``(iii) scrotoplasty;
``(iv) vasectomy;
``(v) hysterectomy;
``(vi) oophorectomy;
``(vii) ovariectomy;
``(viii) metoidioplasty;
``(ix) penectomy;
``(x) phalloplasty;
``(xi) vaginoplasty;
``(xii) vaginectomy;
``(xiii) vulvoplasty;
``(xiv) reduction thyrochondroplasty;
``(xv) chondrolaryngoplasty; and
``(xvi) mastectomy.
``(C) Any plastic surgery that feminizes or masculinizes
the facial or other physiological features for the purposes
described in subparagraph (B).
``(D) Any placement of chest implants to create feminine
breasts for the purposes described in subparagraph (B).
``(E) Any placement of fat or artificial implants in the
gluteal region for the purposes described in subparagraph
(B).
``(F) Any surgery to reconstruct the fixed part of the
urethra, whether or not such surgery includes a
metoidioplasty or a phalloplasty, for the purposes described
in subparagraph (B).
``(5) Male.--The term `male' means a person who naturally
has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital
anomaly, historical accident, or intentional or unintentional
disruption, the reproductive system that at some point
produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.
``(6) Minor.--The term `minor' means any person under the
age of eighteen years.
``(7) Sex.--The term `sex' means the immutable biological
classification of an individual as either male or female.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
7 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the
item related to section 116 and inserting the following:
``116. Genital and bodily mutilation of a minor; chemical castration of
a minor.''.
SEC. 302. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This title takes effect 1 day after the date of enactment
of this Act.
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