Text of Senate Amendment 4425

Text of Senate Amendment 4425

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 48 (Tuesday, March 17, 2026) [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 s