T.P.I. -- CRIM. 6.07

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

            Any person who commits the offense of female genital mutilation is guilty of a crime.

            For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements:¹

            (1)  that the defendant did circumcise, excise or infibulate, in whole or in

                   part, the labia majora, labia minora or the clitoris of another;

and

            (2)  that the defendant did so knowingly.

            [Consent to the procedure by a minor on whom it is performed or by the minor’s parent is not a defense to prosecution for this offense.]²

            [”Minor” means any person under eighteen (18) years of age.]³

            “Circumcise” means the cutting of the hood of the clitoris.⁴

            “Excise” means the removal of the entire clitoris.⁵

            “Infibulate” means the removal of all external genitalia and the stitching together of the vulva.⁶

            “Vulva” means the external genital organs of the female, including the labia majora, labia minora, clitoris and vestibule of the vagina.⁷

            "Knowingly" means that a person acts knowingly with respect to the conduct or to circumstances surrounding the conduct when the person is aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist.  A person acts knowingly with respect to a result of the person's conduct when the person is aware that the conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result.⁸

            The requirement of "knowingly" is also established if it is shown that the defendant acted intentionally.⁹

            "Intentionally" means that a person acts intentionally with respect to the nature of the conduct or to a result of the conduct when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.¹⁰

            [A surgical procedure is not a violation if the procedure:

            (1)  is necessary to the health of the person on whom it is performed and

                   is performed by a licensed physician or physician-in-training under

                   the supervision of a licensed physician; or

            (2)  is performed on a person who is in labor or who has just given birth

                   and is performed for medical purposes connected with that labor or

                   birth by a licensed physician or physician-in-training under the

                   supervision of a licensed physician.]¹¹

FOOTNOTES

  1.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-110(a).

  2.  Id.

  3.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(23).

  4.  Public Acts of 1996, Chapter 857.

  5.  Id.

  6.  Id.

  7.  The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1973).

  8.   Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(20).

  9.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-301(a)(2).

10.   Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(18).

11.   Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-110(b).

COMMENTS

            1.  Female genital mutilation is a Class D felony.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-110(a).