A bill aimed at protecting children from sexual predators passed this past week in the state Legislature. Senate Bill 144 would give judges the option to order chemical castration for men convicted of sexual offenses. The bill, proposed by Sen. Nick Gautreaux, D-Meaux, passed with a 32-3 vote in the Senate. The measure has been sent to the House. Gautreaux said the chemical castration is aimed at perpetrators of the most heinous crimes. The bill includes aggravated rape, sexual battery, selling child pornography, incest, simple kidnapping of children under age 14 and child molestation. The chemical castration would be mandatory for a second offense of any of these crimes. A court order sentencing a defendant to chemical castration will specify the duration of treatment for a specific term. Terms can range up to the life of the defendant. The bill would allow convicted offenders to choose to receive physical castration instead of the chemical treatments. Refusal to comply with court-ordered treatment would add three to five years to the offender’s sentence, without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, according to the bill. If the bill becomes law Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) would be used to chemically castrate. MPA is a hormonal agent that reduces the production of testosterone in the testes and adrenal glands. This lowers the level of testosterone circulating through the bloodstream. MPA is more commonly known as Depo-Provera. The Food and Drug Administration originally approved the drug for irregular uterine bleeding, threatened miscarriage and the absence of menstruation. It is sold worldwide as a female contraceptive. MPA injections are not a permanent form of castration. The child molester will have renewed sexual fantasies and high levels of testosterone if the injections are discontinued. MPA reduces sexual drive, deviant sexual fantasy, sexual activity, sexual urges and sexual aggressiveness, according to a study conducted by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Neil Kaye. Several other states have already incorporated the use of MPA. California became the first state to enact legislation in 1996. It provided for chemical castration of certain sex offenders. Florida, Texas and Georgia have tried similar legislation. Opponents of the bill raise several constitutional issues, including possible violations of the right to refuse non-consensual medical treatment, the right to privacy, the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, due process and equal protection, and double jeopardy. “It certainly is subject to the Eighth Amendment scrutiny,” said lawyer and University business law professor Phil Breaux. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. If the defendant is given an option of jail or castration, that would be a way to make it easier to get past the Eighth Amendment objection, Breaux said.
—-Contact Jack LeBlanc at [email protected]