Paedophiles found guilty of a sex crime against a child in the US state of Louisiana could soon be ordered to undergo surgical castration.
Politicians there gave final approval to a bill on Monday that would allow judges to issue the order to those convicted of certain aggravated sex crimes against a child younger than 13.
These crimes include rape, incest and molestation.
Louisiana judges have had the power to order those convicted of such crimes to have chemical castration since 2008.
This method involves the use of drugs that block sex hormone production in order to decrease libido.
Surgical castration is a much more invasive procedure.
State politics reporter for The Advocate and The Times-Picayune Meghan Friedmann told Moncrieff legislators see the surgical option as more effective.
"A lawmaker in 2022 proposed this [and] I think the idea for her - a State Senator named Regina Barrow - is that this will be a more effective deterrent for rape," she said.
"Louisiana actually has the highest incarceration rate in the country.
"It is known for having some of the toughest penalties against offenders already and very long prison sentences."
Castration 'at Judge's discretion'
Ms Friedmann said offenders can actually opt to refuse the procedure.
"Offenders could refuse the procedure in which case they would get another three to five years on their prison sentence," she said.
"[A castration] would be in addition to the prison sentence, it would be at a Judge's discretion.
"One thing to note is that this is not officially law yet, the Governor hasn't signed it.
"However he ran last year on a 'tough on crime' platform so I don't think there's any reason to think that he would not sign it".
Ms Friedmann added that the bill passed the majority-Republican legislature with bipartisan support.
If the bill becomes law, it can only be applied to men and women whose crime took place on or after August 1st this year.
The castration would be in addition to any prison time.
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Additional reporting: IRN
