Sex Offender Surgical Castration Bill Goes to Louisiana Governor

Sex offender laws in Louisiana could become some of the toughest in the nation if a new bill is signed into law by the Governor.

Louisiana Senate Bill 371 has now passed through the state senate and house with bipartisan support, and will now go to Governor Jeff Landry's desk for his signature. If the Governor signs it, Louisiana will implement surgical castration as a sentencing option for sexual crimes in the state.

Right now, the state of Louisiana has chemical castration as a legal sentencing option. Chemical castration is a medical treatment that is used as an attempt to decrease the patients' sex drive. Its a treatment that is completely reversable when the medication is stopped. On the other had, surgical castration is an actual medical procedure.

Earlier in 2024, a Louisiana man was sentenced to physical castration after being found guilty of raping and impregnating at 14-year-old girl. Now lawmakers want to make this a fulltime option across the state.

The bill was introduced by Senator Regina Barrow, a Democrat from Baton Rouge. The bill got votes from both sides of the aisle in the Louisiana house and senate, but did receive "no" votes along the way. Even though the bill was brought by a Democrat, almost all of the "no" votes in both chambers came from Democrats, with Republicans accounting for almost all of the "yes" votes. This is an absolute bi-partisan bill based on voting.

While some elected officials tried to make the debate about race, Senator Barrow, who introduced the legislation, is African-American. House Rep. Delisha Boyd of New Orleans presented the bill in the Louisiana House, and is also African-American.