A person generally commits the criminal offense of rape by using force, threats of force, coercion, or fraud to have non-consensual sexual intercourse with another person. In some states this criminal offense is called sexual assault. Rape is a felony offense with significant jail or prison time as potential punishment.

Laws vary from state to state and some state laws also include in the definition of rape sexual intercourse with a person who is intoxicated by drugs or alcohol, unconscious, or mentally disabled and unable to consent to the sexual intercourse. And some states have a broad definition of the lack of consent to sexual contact constituting rape and include sexual contact with public servants (police officers, etc.), members of the clergy, mental health service providers, and employees of assisted living centers or nursing homes as lacking consent under some circumstances.

In some states it is rape or sexual assault for a health care services provider performing an assisted reproduction procedure to use human reproductive material from a donor other than the patient’s intended donor.

Rape or sexual assault laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In New Mexico, rape, which may also be referred to as sexual assault, is defined under the state's criminal statutes as the act of having non-consensual sexual intercourse with another person through force, threats of force, coercion, or fraud. It is considered a felony offense, which can result in substantial prison time. New Mexico law also recognizes that a person cannot consent to sexual intercourse if they are intoxicated, unconscious, or mentally incapacitated. Furthermore, the state's statutes extend the definition of rape to include situations where the victim is unable to consent due to their particular vulnerability or relationship to the perpetrator, such as when the victim is under the care of a public servant, a member of the clergy, a mental health service provider, or an employee of an assisted living center or nursing home. Additionally, in New Mexico, it is a criminal offense for a health care provider to use reproductive material from a donor that is not the one intended by the patient during an assisted reproduction procedure. These laws are codified in New Mexico's penal or criminal code and are designed to protect individuals from sexual violence and uphold their autonomy over their own bodies.