If Gov. Jeff Landry signs a bill passed by the Louisiana legislature on Monday, judges could sentence people convicted of sexual offenses against children under 13 to be surgically castrated. That means the state could physically remove testicles or ovaries.
Louisiana and several other states already permit chemical castration for certain sex offenders, which involves a hormone drug cocktail meant to reduce libido but leaves the body intact and is reversible. No state currently allows judges to order the much more invasive, risky, and irreversible surgical castration.
Nonetheless, Louisiana’s legislature is opening a reproductive rights debate – and it’s not clear why, given that chemical castration is rarely applied today. Also, scientists doubt the effectiveness of surgical castration for preventing sex crimes.
Is the conservative Pelican state really OK with giving the state permission to mutilate the genitals of prisoners? Maybe not as much as it seems: The proposed punishment for a convict refusing to go through with the surgery would be 3-5 additional years in prison.
In this episode of "ask ian," Ian Bremmer looks at what the rise of Elon Musk as the world’s first trillionaire reveals about wealth, innovation, and the future of the American Dream.
There are 48 countries involved in this year’s World Cup, but that only tells part of the story of just how global the “global game” has become.
In his latest Quick Take, Ian Bremmer says the US and Iran’s memorandum of understanding to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz marks progress, but warns it falls far short of resolving the broader conflict.
The United States and Iran said Sunday that they had reached an interim agreement that could end the months-long war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Officials are expected to sign the deal in Switzerland on Friday, following the G7 summit in France.