Senate Bill No. 82
(By Senator Wooton)
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[Introduced January 13, 1999;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article eight-d, chapter sixty-one of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, relating to criminal child abuse; prohibiting the
practice of female genital mutilation; and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article eight-d, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8D. CHILD ABUSE.
§61-8D-3a. Female genital mutilation; penalties; definitions.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this
section, any person who circumcises, excises or infibulates, in
whole or in part, the labia majora, labia minora or clitoris of a female under the age of eighteen, or any parent, guardian or
custodian of a female under the age of eighteen who allows the
circumcision, excision or infibulation, in whole or in part, of
the female's labia majora, labia minora or clitoris, is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a
state correctional facility for not less than two nor more than
ten years and fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more
than five thousand dollars.
(b) A surgical procedure is not a violation of this section
if the procedure:
(1) Is necessary to preserve the health of the child on whom
it is performed and is performed by a licensed medical
professional authorized to practice medicine in this state; or
(2) The procedure is performed on a child who is in labor or
has just given birth and is performed for legitimate medical
purposes connected with that labor or birth by a licensed medical
professional authorized to practice medicine in this state.
(c) A person's belief that the conduct described in
subsection (a) of this section: (i) Is required as a matter of custom, ritual or standard practice; or (ii) was consented to by
the female on which the circumcision, excision or infibulation
was performed shall not constitute a defense to criminal
prosecution under subsection (a) of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to criminalize the
practice of female genital mutilation in any form.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)