Artist Tip 'T.I.' Harris speaks onstage during the 2018 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: VCG

New York State is considering banning so-called virginity tests after an American rapper sparked outcry by saying he takes his daughter to a gynecologist every year to check her hymen is still intact.

Legislator Michaelle Solages has tabled a bill proposing the ban, saying the examination, which the World Health Organization (WHO) says has no scientific basis, amounted to sexual violence.

WHO called for the practice to be stopped last year, noting that the appearance of a woman's hymen cannot prove whether they have had sexual intercourse.

Rapper T.I., a three-time Grammy winner whose real name is Clifford Harris, told a podcast last month that he took annual trips to a gynecologist with his daughter, now 18.

 Solages' bill, which she says has bipartisan support, will be debated in January when the assembly returns from recess.

AFP