Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
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.
Should Louisiana castrate sex offenders?
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.