The bill aims to prohibit genital or bodily mutilation and chemical castration of minors. It imposes fines, imprisonment, or both for offenders.
The bill outlines exceptions, such as procedures necessary for the minor's health, including genetic or biochemical testing, and cases of precocious puberty.
It specifies that offenses affecting female genital mutilation will result in fines, imprisonment, or both, and prohibits defense based on religion, custom, or tradition.
The bill includes definitions for terms like 'genital or bodily mutilation,' 'chemical castration,' 'biological sex,' 'female genital mutilation,' and 'minor,' as well as specifications for what constitutes a male or female.
It enacts a prohibition on prosecuting victims of the offenses described and undergoes a clerical amendment to update the table of sections for chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code.
Protect Children’s Innocence Act of 2025
This bill establishes federal criminal offenses for providing gender-affirming care to minors. The bill also changes the existing federal criminal offense that prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM) and related conduct.
Specifically, the bill makes it a federal crime to knowingly perform or attempt to perform procedures or provide medications (e.g., hormonal treatments) to a minor for the purpose of changing their body to correspond to a sex that differs from their biological sex. The bill provides exceptions for specified types of surgeries or procedures, including those for treating (1) individuals who have both ovarian and testicular tissue or abnormal sex chromosome structure or hormones, or (2) infections or other harms that result from a previous gender-transition procedure. A violation is punishable by a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. The bill prohibits the arrest or prosecution of an individual who undergoes gender-affirming procedures or medications.
Additionally, the bill makes changes to the existing federal criminal prohibition on performing FGM on a minor and related conduct. Among the changes, the bill broadens the scope of prohibited conduct to include the facilitation or consent to FGM by any person (currently, prohibited facilitation or consent applies only to a parent, guardian, or caretaker of the minor). The bill also prohibits the arrest or prosecution of an individual who undergoes FGM. The bill does not change the applicable criminal penalty of a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both.