By: Khushi Prakash
Congress is currently considering bill H.R. 3492, the Protect Children’s Innocence Act. At first glance, the bill appears to strengthen protections against female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). However, in reality, this bill goes far beyond banning FGM/C by redefining gender-affirming healthcare as “genital or bodily mutilation” and “chemical castration”. If passed, this bill would criminalize doctors and parents who provided essential, evidence-based care to trans youth, while also stripping away parental rights and misusing the global movement to end FGM/C.
This false equivalence is both dangerous and dishonest.
Historical Legal Context
The United States already has enforceable laws banning FGM/C. At the federal level, 18 U.S.C. § 116, which was strengthened in 2021 through the STOP FGM Act, makes it a crime to perform FGM/C on minors or to transport a child abroad for that purpose. Additionally, more than 40 states have their own criminal bans on FGM/C, many with civil remedies and mandatory reporting requirements. H.R. 3492 seeks to amend the federal law by claiming that gender-affirming care is a form of FGM/C.
FGM/C and Gender-Affirming Care Are Not the Same
FGM/C is a non-consensual, harmful practice performed for cultural, social, or religious reasons, almost always on minors who do not consent to undergoing FGM/C. FGM/C has no medical benefits and is widely recognized by the WHO, the United Nations, and countless other human rights organizations as a form of gender-based violence.
Gender-affirming care, by contrast, is grounded in decades of research, guided by professional medical associations, and provided in consultation with young people, their families, and their doctors. It is not mutilation; it is healthcare that improves mental health outcomes and saves lives.
By lumping these two together under the banner of “genital or bodily mutilation,” the bill distorts both realities. Instead of protecting children, it weaponizes the trauma of survivors of FGM/C to deny gender-affirming care to youth who require it.
What This Bill Really Does
This bill criminalizes doctors and parents who provide evidence-based medical gender affriming care, strips away parental rights to support their child’s healthcare decisions, and undermines the global movement to end FGM/C by confusing policymakers and the public about what FGM/C is and why it must end.
The Call to Action
We cannot let H.R. 3492 pass. Here’s how you can act:
- Complete this call to action to urge your Congress Members to vote no on H.R. 3492, and share widely with your networks.
- Look up who your elected officials are using this link, and contact them directly via phone or email to let them know why it’s important to protect the federal FGM/C law as is. The U.S. End FGM/C Network has drafted a sample script that you can use as a guide.
Both the effort to end FGM/C and the effort to safeguard young people’s access to appropriate, evidence-based healthcare ultimately center on the same principle: affirming every child’s right to live free from harm, with dignity, autonomy, and the ability to shape their own future.
