You might think that non-consensual genital cutting is already illegal, and some legal scholars already see it that way. Consider arclaw.org, for example. “Sexual assault and battery of a minor” seems to fit the bill, but not everyone sees it this way. When this site refers to consent, it is referring to consent by the individual and believes that proxy consent (e.g. from a parent) only applies when a medical need applies.
In 1989 a case in California asked one simple question: “DOES A PARENT HAVE THE LEGAL POWER TO CONSENT TO SURGICAL PROCEDURES WHICH HAVE NO MEDICAL PURPOSE?”
In 2012 a German judge ruled that “circumcision” of a child is an assault. This gave rise to the WorldWide Day of Genital Autonomy (WWDOGA).
The binary/non-binary sex realm is crossed into as laws have been created to protect certain groups of people from non-consensual genital cutting while excluding others. For example, the U.S.A. passed a law in 1996 (effective 1997) that is supposed to protect females, while attempting to leave out intersex and males. Austin, Texas passed a law to protect intersex individuals while attempting to leave out males (see item 28 here). A bill intended to be restricted to transgenders was worded in a way that would have included male “circumcision” (story here). Bills have been proposed to protect intersex individuals, but it appears that those who wrote the bills did not see that the bill would also protect males and the bill would later be retracted (i.e. California). Idaho tries to protect females and children from sex-change operations (trans) while allowing intersex normalization (“genetic disorder of sex development”) and fails to specifically call out males; click HERE for the bill.
A petition in San Francisco, California was attempted to ban male “circumcision,” but a judge blocked it and set a precedence that no local government (city or county) can regulate medical practices; leaving it up to the state. AB 768.
John Adkison attempted a lawsuit against the U.S.A. federal government but the FTCA (Federal Tort Claims Act) prevents suits involving assault.
The Lavine family is actively pursuing a suit against the American Academy of Pediatrics and the hospital where their sons were born (Princeton Medical Group).
Eric Anderson of Florida attempted an injunction to stop “routine infant circumcision” but was denied due to lack of evidence of violence. For more, click HERE, but, be warned that it is **NOT** SFW!
In 2018 a federal judge in Michigan (U.S.A.) deemed the federal anti-FGM law unconstitutional due to state’s rights, claiming that issues of assault and battery are left to the states and that this is not a cross-state-border activity. Many believe that he did this to avoid the conflict with male “circumcision.” Law enforcement later attempted to convict the individual on other grounds but the same judge persisted in letting the individual off the hook.
Some nordic countries have considered banning ALL non-consensual but doing so would risk relationship problems with the U.S.A. as H.R. 1150 prohibits “…persecution of lawyers, politicians, or other human rights advocates seeking to defend the rights of members of religious groups or highlight religious freedom violations, prohibitions on ritual animal slaughter or male infant circumcision…”
All of these attempts demonstrate that it is impossible to draw lines that categorize individuals into neat little boxes. EVERY individual should be protected from non-consensual genital cutting. Consent would be implied in cases of medical need, just like any other body part. These attempts to protect one group while allowing cutting of another also demonstrates that “no body is safe unless every body is safe.”
Does this mean there is nothing you can do or that it is hopeless? Absolutely not. Public education is still key as wide public support of laws that protect everyone will eventually create enough pressure to make the laws more clear. It is still possible to file criminal complaints with law enforcement and to file lawsuits.
There are many options for lawsuits to consider:
- Sue your state’s Medicaid to stop them from paying for them, like this one in Massachusetts.
- Sue your public education for failing to educate about genitalia.
- Before your 20th birthday (maybe later depending on statutes of limitations regarding “medical” procedures), sue the individual that cut your body.
Last updated February 8, 2002