Will Texas Follow After Louisiana Passes Surgical Castration Law?

Louisiana recently became the first state in the United States to use surgical castration as a criminal punishment. According to APnews.com the new law gives judges the authority to impose the sentence on offenders found guilty of certain sex crimes against children.

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The law passed on Thursday would allow for adults convicted of first or second-degree aggravated rape of a child under 13 to face this penalty at a judge's discretion. Surgical castration involves the removal of a man's testes or a woman's ovaries.

Texas currently has a similar, yet less severe law that allows judges to sentence predators to chemical castration. Convicted sex offenders can also opt into chemical or surgical castration as punishment in Texas to gain more freedom during a sentence or to keep from reoffending.

Chemical Castration Is Reversible, Surgical Castration Is Not

Chemical castration is administered via a hormonal medication known as an antiandrogen. Unlike surgical castration, the effects of the drug wear off after stopping the treatment, and offenders regain reproductive abilities.

GOP-Led Lousiana Legislature Passed The Law Thursday

The new Republican Governor Jeff Landry and the GOP-led Louisiana Legislature passed this law, along with its author Democratic Senator Regina Barrow.

They are hoping this new deterrent will stop people from committing such heinous crimes against children. This law would affect 2,224 inmates currently in Louisiana's prisons if it were to be applied retroactively.

The new law can only be used on offenders convicted on or after August 1, 2024.

Texas Leads The Nation In Registered Sex Offenders in 2023

According to safehome.org Texas has the most registered sex offenders in the country with over 100,000 people. California comes in a distant second with 62,000.