Only 42 States currently have laws against FGM

Only 42 States currently have laws against FGM (updated as of May 2026).

States which do not yet have laws against FGM: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, and New Mexico.

STATES WITH LAWS AGAINST FGM:

State	Applicable law	No. of women and girls in the state affected by FGM	Applies to all women and girls (and not limited to minors)	Parent/ Guardian and circumciser subject to prosecution	“Vacation provision” banning travel outside the state for FGM	Cultural/ ritual reason and/or consent not a defense	Provisions for community education and outreach	Statute of Limitations	Good Practice Provisions
Arizona	A.R.S §§ 12-513, 13-705, 13-1214, 13-3620 Enacted 2014	7459			✔			Criminal – 7 years Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Mandatory reporting provisions
Arkansas	A.C.A. § 5-14-135, 12-18-103, 16-118-116, 17-80-121, 20-82-101, 20-82-102 Enacted 2019	551		✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – 3 years post 18 (unless reported prior) Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Mandatory annual reporting provisions Exception for gender affirming surgery Disciplinary action against healthcare practitioners
California	Cal. Pen. Code § 273a, 273.4 Enacted 1997	56,872		✔			✔	Criminal – 3 years
Colorado	Col. Rev. Stat. § 18-6-401 Enacted 1999	8705		✔		✔		Criminal – 3 years	Doctor-patient & husband-wife privileges are inapplicable in FGM prosecutions
Connecticut	SB259 signed 7 May 2026	2658				✔		Civil – 30 years post 18	Civil remedy Trauma-informed in court testimony procedures Abrogated parent-child immunity for testimony purposes
Delaware	Del. Code Tit. 11, § 780 Enacted 1996	2238		✔		✔		Criminal – no limit
District of Columbia (Washington D.C.)	D.C. Code § 22–1431 Enacted 2025	51,411	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – 3 years post 18 Civil – 3 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Mandatory annual reporting provisions Exception for gender affirming surgery
Florida	Fla. Stat. § 794.08 Enacted 2018	11,180		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 8 years post 16
Georgia	O.C.G.A. § 16-5-27 Enacted 2005	20,476		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 7 years	Doctor-patient & husband-wife privileges are inapplicable in FGM prosecutions
Idaho	Id. Stat. §18-1506B Enacted 2019	566			✔	✔		Criminal – 3 years after date of initial disclosure to law enforcement
Illinois	720 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/12-34 Enacted 1998, amended 2019	12,039	✔	✔				Criminal – 3 years (no limit if the victim is under the age of 18)
Indiana	IC § 35-42-2-10; IC 16-19-13-8, as added by P.L.51-2021	5251		✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – 5 years	Mandatory reporting Medical license revocation
Iowa	I.C.A. § 708.16 Enacted 2019	5142			✔	✔	✔	Criminal – 3 years	Education provisions: protocol for physicians to provide treatment for survivors
Kansas	K.S.A. § 21-5431 Enacted 2013	3171		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 5 years
Kentucky	K.R.S 508.125; 15.334 Enacted 2020	1845		✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – no limit Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Mandatory reporting provisions Medical license revocation Mandatory data/statistical collection
Louisiana	La. R.S. 14:43.4 Enacted 2012	1524		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 4 years
Maryland	Md. Code Health-Gen. § 20-601, 602 Enacted 1998 Amended 2026	31,820		✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – no limit
Massachusetts	Chapter 149 of Acts of 2020 Enacted 2020	14,211			✔	✔	✔	Criminal – 6 years Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Mandatory reporting provisions Inter-agency partnership promotion toward FGM prevention
Michigan	Minn. Stat. §§ 144.3872, 609.2245 Enacted 1995	10,493		✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – later of 10 years or 21st birthday Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Medical license revocation
Minnesota	Minn. Stat. § 144.3872, 609.2245 Enacted 1995	44,293	✓			✔	✔	Criminal – 3 years
Missouri	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 568.065 Enacted 2000	4043		✔		✔		Criminal – 3 years
Nevada	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.5083 Enacted 1997	7457		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – Until the victim turns 36 (or 43 years of age in cases of lack of knowledge)
New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. § 632-A:10-d Enacted 2019	403		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 22 years post 18
New Jersey	N.J. Stat. § 2C:24- 10 Enacted 2014	31, 023		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 5 years
New York	N.Y. Penal Law § 130.85 Effective 11/1/1997; N.Y. Public Health Law § 207(k) Enacted 2015	48, 418		✔		✔	✔	Criminal – 5 years post 18 if not reported earlier
North Carolina	NC ST § 14-28.1 Enacted 2019	9399		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – no limit
North Dakota	N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-36-01 Enacted 1995, amended 2019	531	✔	✔		✔		Criminal – 3 years of offence or reporting, whichever is later
Ohio	OH ST § 2903.32 Amended 2019	24,320			✔	✔		Criminal – 6 years after victim turns 18 (unless law enforcement was notified earlier)
Oklahoma	21 Okl. St. § 760 Enacted 2009	1788	✔			✔		Criminal – 3 years
Oregon	Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 163.207, 431A.600 Enacted 1999, amended 2019	2647		✔		✔	✔	Criminal – 3 years
Pennsylvania	18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3132 Enacted 2019	19,480		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 2 years
Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-5-2 Enacted 1996	2754	✔					Criminal – 3 years
South Carolina	S.C. Code Ann. §§ 16-3-2210–2240 Enacted 2019	1480		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – no limit	Medical license revocation
South Dakota	S.D.C.L. §§ 22-18-37–39 Enacted 2015	1019		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 7 years
Tennessee	Tenn. Code § 39-13-110 Enacted 1996, amended 2019	8062	✔	✔		✔		Criminal – 4 years Civil – 5 years or before turning 21	Civil remedy for damages Disciplinary action against healthcare practitioners
Texas	Tex. Health & Safety Code § 167.001 Enacted 2005, amended 2017	33,087		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – 3 years
Utah	U.C.A. §§ 76-5-701–704 Enacted 2019, amended 2026	1769		✔	✔	✔		Criminal – no limit Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Mandatory annual reporting provisions Exception for gender affirming surgery Disciplinary action against healthcare practitioners
Vermont	13 V.S.A § 3151 Enacted 2020	650			✔	✔		Criminal – 3 years
Virginia	Va. Code §§ 8.01- 42.5, 18.2-51.7, 22.1-207.1:1 Enacted 2018, amended 2019	30,830		✔	✔		✔	Criminal – no limit Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages
Washington	R.C.W. §§ 18.130.460, 43.70.614, 9A.36.170, 9A.36.175 Enacted 2023	25,000		✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – 10 years post 18 Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Medical license revocation Inter-agency partnership promotion toward FGM prevention
West Virginia	W. Va. Code § 61-8D-3A Enacted 1999	124	✔	✔		✔		Criminal – no limit
Wisconsin	Wis. Stat. § 146.35 Enacted 1996	2144		✔		✔		Criminal – 6 years
Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. § 6-1-104; 6-2-502; 1-1-139; 35-25-401 Enacted 2020	438		✔	✔	✔	✔	Criminal – no limit Civil – 10 years post 18	Civil remedy for damages Mandatory reporting provisions Disciplinary action against healthcare practitioners incl. medical license revocation

US Laws Against FGM

Only 42 States currently have laws against FGM

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