The proposed legislation, General Assembly Raised Bill No. 259, aims to criminalize female genital mutilation (FGM) by making it a class D felony to perform such procedures on individuals under the age of eighteen, with specific exceptions for medically necessary surgical operations performed by licensed physicians or nurse-midwives. The bill also establishes that any belief in the necessity of the procedure based on custom or ritual does not qualify as a medical purpose. Additionally, the bill introduces provisions for the testimony of child victims in cases involving FGM, assault, or sexual assault, allowing for testimony to be taken outside the courtroom under certain conditions to protect the child's well-being.

Furthermore, the bill allows victims of FGM to bring civil actions against perpetrators, abrogates the immunity typically granted between parents and children in such cases, and sets a statute of limitations of thirty years from the victim's eighteenth birthday for filing personal injury claims related to FGM. The bill repeals and replaces existing statutes regarding the testimony of child witnesses, ensuring that children who are victims of FGM are not automatically deemed incompetent to testify due to their age. The effective date for all provisions in the bill is set for October 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 54-86g, 54-86h