It’s a topic many people are uncomfortable with, but reports from the World Health Organization and the CDC show female genital mutilation is on the rise, and that includes here in the United States.

News13’s Georgiaree Godfrey looked at a bill that would prevent the procedure in South Carolina.

More than a dozen states have passed legislation that ban female genital mutilation and now a South Carolina lawmaker is looking to add the state to the list.

While prevalent in other countries, data from the CDC shows that more than 500,000 women in the us have undergone female genital mutilation.

Most recently, a major shift at the federal level put the power to ban the procedure within the states.

“There was a federal prohibition, but then that was struck down by a federal judge, who said that it was unconstitutional due to interstate commerce and needed to be handled on a state to state case,” said Representative Heather Ammons Crawford (R-Horry).

A bill filed in the house would ban FGM for women under the age of 18 and introduce criminal penalties if the procedure is done.

“Our state government exists to protect the most innocent and most vulnerable and this bill is directed to protect young women from harm to their bodies,” said Rep. Josiah Magnuson (R-Spartanburg).

The WHO reports the most common reasons for FGM include religious and cultural reasons.

If this bill becomes law, it would not apply to women 18 and older.

In addition to criminal penalties, any physician who performs the surgery would have their professional licenses and certifications revoked.

The bill is currently in committee.