Skip to content
Search
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

Should Louisiana castrate sex offenders?

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry speaks during the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Annual Meeting at the Alario Center in Westwego, Louisiana on Tuesday, February 6, 2023.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry speaks during the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Annual Meeting at the Alario Center in Westwego, Louisiana on Tuesday, February 6, 2023.

Peter G. Forest/Reuters
Matthew Kendrick
By Matthew KendrickJune 04, 2024
Matthew Kendrick
Matthew Kendrick is an Emmy-nominated journalist covering global affairs for GZERO Media. He speaks fluent Spanish with a mild Chilean accent thanks to growing up in the Atacama, advanced Mandarin thanks to his time in Harbin, and basic Korean thanks to his Fulbright award. Prior to GZERO, Matt was a producer for CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. When he's not reporting and writing, you can catch him doing yoga, struggling to teach himself Turkish, or (most likely) napping with his two cats.
See Full Bio
Make us preferred on Google

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.

louisiana

Latest Videos

Trump's 'Project Freedom'play icon
Quick Take

Trump's 'Project Freedom'

New Trump acronym on Wall Street, muchachos...
Puppet Regime

New Trump acronym on Wall Street, muchachos...

UAE to withdraw from OPEC
ask ian

UAE to withdraw from OPEC

Trump's Cuba backlash could come from home
GZERO World Clips

Trump's Cuba backlash could come from home

US-Iran peace talks stall
Quick Take

US-Iran peace talks stall

Why Cuba won't be the next Venezuela
GZERO World Clips

Why Cuba won't be the next Venezuela

More For You

Japan weighs revising pacifist constitution, Europe talks collective security in Armenia, US to “help free up” ships in Hormuz

Participants and protesters hold posters opposing Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration and her policies on constitutional revision and military expansion during a Constitution Memorial Day rally in Tokyo, Japan, May 3, 2026.

Participants and protesters hold posters opposing Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration and her policies on constitutional revision and military expansion during a Constitution Memorial Day rally in Tokyo, Japan, May 3, 2026.

REUTERS/Issei Kato.
Will Japan rewrite its rules of war? Fifty thousand demonstrators gathered in Tokyo on Sunday, the country’s Constitution Memorial Day, to protest Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's call for “advanced discussions” on revising Japan’s pacifist constitution. Since 1947, Article 9 has prohibited Japan from maintaining land, sea, or air forces [...]

China’s duty-free approach to Africa, Israel and Ukraine’s beef, the helium hold-up in Hormuz

​A China-Africa general cargo ship carrying domestic engineering vehicles departs from Yantai Port in east China's Shandong Province to Nigeria on 27 April, 2026.

A China-Africa general cargo ship carrying domestic engineering vehicles departs from Yantai Port in east China's Shandong Province to Nigeria on 27 April, 2026.

REUTERS
China tries to sell Africa on its zero-tariffs approachStarting today, China is scrapping tariffs on imports from 53 African nations. Yet Beijing’s zero-tariff policy is unlikely to narrow the continent’s growing trade deficit with China any time soon. Africa’s exports to China are primarily raw materials and critical minerals such as copper and [...]

Russian influence at risk across Africa, US puts Mexico’s Sheinbaum in another pickle, US considers taking troops out of Germany

​Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali's military government, meets with Russian officials, according to Mali's presidency, at Koulouba Palace in Bamako, Mali, in this handout photo released April 28, 2026.

Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali's military government, meets with Russian officials, including Russian ambassador Igor Gromyko, according to Mali's presidency, at Koulouba Palace in Bamako, Mali, in this handout photo released April 28, 2026.

Mali Presidency via Facebook/Handout via REUTERS
Is Russia losing influence in insurgency-hit Mali?The Russian-backed Malian army is starting to regain ground following coordinated attacks by terrorist insurgents and Tuareg secessionists over the weekend. On Wednesday, they wrestled back control of a town along the Niger border from Islamic State-linked insurgents. Calm has also returned to the [...]

US readying for extended Hormuz blockade, Philippine VP’s impeachment case advances, Hungary’s Magyar comes to Brussels

US President Donald Trump speaks during a state dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on April 28, 2026.​

King Charles III and Queen Camilla look on as US President Donald Trump speaks during a state dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on April 28, 2026.

REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
Trump preparing for extended Hormuz blockade, per reportUS President Donald Trump reportedly told his aides to prepare for a longer blockade of Iranian-linked ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, in the hopes that the Islamic Republic kowtows to his demand to dismantle its nuclear program. He appears to prefer this option to restarting a [...]