H.R. 3492

119 HR 3492 EH: Protect Children’s Innocence Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
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 IB
 119th CONGRESS  1st Session
 H. R. 3492
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 AN ACT
To amend section 116 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to genital and bodily mutilation and chemical castration of minors.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Protect Children’s Innocence Act  .
2.
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:
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 or affecting 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 or affecting 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 or affected 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)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
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 changing the body of such individual to correspond to a sex that differs from their biological 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).
(2)
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;
(B)
testosterone or other androgens to biological females at doses that are supraphysiologic to the female sex; and
(C)
estrogen to biological males at doses that are supraphysiologic to the male sex.
(3)
Biological sex
The term  biological sex  means, with respect to a person, the classification of the person as male or female at birth.
(4)
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—
(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.
(5)
Minor
The term  minor  means any person under the age of eighteen years.
(6)
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.
(7)
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.
 .
(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.
  .
      Passed the House of Representatives December 17, 2025.  Kevin F. McCumber,  Clerk.