Alabama is one of nine remaining states in the United States that do not currently have laws to prevent and protect survivors and at-risk individuals from female genital cutting (FGC). Research by the Population Reference Bureau indicates that 1,480 girls and women in Alabama are at risk of undergoing FGC. Another more recent study released in 2023 indicates that within the Southeast Region of the United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and West Virginia), 4,480 women and girls are living with FGM/C, while 281 girls are at risk of FGM/C.
Past attempts have been made. In April 2019, House Bill 421 was introduced by former Representative Roderick Scott to criminalize FGC and impose penalties on those performing or facilitating the harmful practice (except when specifically medically necessary).
The bill defined FGC as “the act of removing, cutting, circumcising, excising, mutilating, infibulating, or reinfibulating, in whole or in part, the labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris of a female under the age of 19 years. This includes procedures such as clitoridectomy and other harmful practices like incising, piercing, scraping, nicking, cauterizing, burning, and scarring performed for non-medical purposes.”
The bill classified FGC as a Class B felony. People who could be convicted of this crime included “parents, legal guardians, or individuals with immediate custody who knowingly allow, authorize, or direct another person to perform” FGC, and those who transported a person under the age of 19 out of the state to undergo FGC.
The bill made it clear that anyone under the age of 19 could not legally consent to FGC, and that cultural, religious, or traditional customs were not valid defenses for performing FGC. If those involved had received consent from the individual or their guardian, they could still be prosecuted.
Like many FGC bills in other states, HB 421 included an affirmative defense provision that would have made licensed medical professionals, including physicians, certified registered nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, or licensed midwives, exempt from prosecution if they could prove the procedure was medically necessary to preserve the health of an individual.
In May 2019, HB 421 was read for the first time and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Then, after a second reading and a favorable report, it was slated to be read for a third time. Unfortunately, the bill was never reread and died in the chamber. Ultimately, the bill only progressed 25% of the way before the House of Representatives adjourned early without further bill-related action.
No reason has publicly been stated as to why this bill did not make it through the legislature.
If you have information about these legislative attempts to pass bills in Alabama on FGC, information on FGC in Alabama, or want to learn more about Sahiyo’s policy work, please contact us at info@sahiyo.org.
