In 2024, Louisiana became the first American state where a judge can order surgical castration. While tough measures against criminals are usually associated with Republicans, it was two Democrats who carried the bill. The Press spoke with one of them, who is also waging a personal fight to allow abortion after an attack.
Published at 6:00 a.m.
An article in a local newspaper shook Delisha Boyd, elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, in May: a man had just been arrested for the rape of a 12-year-old girl. According to prosecutors, he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old child in 2007.
“I tell you, it irritated me to no end,” testifies, by videoconference, the 55-year-old politician from New Orleans, in front of an American flag.
She called Democratic Senator Regina Barrow, who had introduced a bill to allow judges to seek surgical castration as a sanction, in addition to prison – chemical castration is already a permitted measure in Louisiana, as in California and the United States. Texas, in particular, although it is rarely used. The two elected officials joined forces, wishing to send a strong message.
The project was adopted.
Surgical castration is now a possible punishment for a person convicted of raping a child under 13. The criminal has the option of refusing it and extending his stay in prison.
“It’s a law that people have talked about a lot here, it comes in a context where Republican Governor Jeff Landry [en poste depuis janvier 2024] really positioned itself to be very tough against criminals,” says Grace Reinke of the University of New Orleans.
Persist despite the turmoil
The law also caused a stir. Doctors have raised the lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of castration in preventing recurrences. Human rights activists saw it as radical punishment. Members of the Louisiana Black Caucus, including Mr.me Boyd is part, denounced a procedure used against slaves in another era.
But the representative persists and signs. “I stand in defense of women and children who are beaten and raped,” she says indignantly. Why do we always have to shout so loudly to protect the most innocent? That beats me. »
Elected for the first time in 2021, the mother of a thirty-year-old and grandmother of an 11-year-old child had already worked on several political campaigns in the past. Her experience in real estate had made her aware of the problems of housing accessibility in New Orleans, and it was with this in mind that she entered the political arena. In the district she represents, 21% of the population lives below the poverty line, much higher than the national average of 12.5%.
Abortion in case of rape
Victims and those left behind are of particular concern to her, she emphasizes, and she has come to defend the right to abortion in cases of pregnancy following sexual assault.
She herself is the product of rape.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DELISHA BOYD’S OFFICE
Democratic representative to the Louisiana House of Representatives Delisha Boyd
My mother was 15 when I was born, and the sperm donor was 28, a family friend.
Delisha Boyd, elected Democrat to the Louisiana House of Representatives
The elected official opened up publicly on this subject for the first time by presenting her plan for exceptions to the law on abortion. Currently, the procedure is permitted only to save the woman’s life.
The abortion law is “extreme,” notes Rosalind Cook of Tulane University in New Orleans; doctors face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison if they do not respect it.
His mother’s trauma
M’s motherme Boyd died before turning 30. The politician remains convinced that the traumas she experienced as a teenager – including her own birth – led her prematurely to the grave.
“She was going through her inner battles, which led to her becoming a drug addict and not being a very attentive parent,” she confides.
In 1969, abortion was not legal in the United States. If her mother had benefited from the right to abortion in the event of rape, as she defends, the Democrat would perhaps not have been born. But for someone who says she grew up with a lot of anger, without understanding the torment her mother was going through, this is a false debate.
If people who call themselves pro-life were really pro-life, they would be pro-life from the womb to the grave, they would not abandon children once they are in the world.
Delisha Boyd, elected Democrat to the Louisiana House of Representatives
To ensure Republican support, she amended her bill to limit access to abortion to minor victims.
The proposal was rejected.
Mme Boyd intends to relaunch the debate among his peers in 2025. By also continuing to try to obtain a majority of votes to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community against discrimination, in a context where the protections concerning them are called into question by the RIGHT. An egalitarian cause that is dear to her, as a woman and as an African-American, she specifies.
Ambitions in municipal politics
Democratic struggles remain difficult in this Republican state.
“New Orleans is a progressive place, but Louisiana is still a very conservative state,” says M.me Cook.
The representative could end her mandate before its end, scheduled for 2028, if she is elected to the New Orleans city council. Elections will take place in November 2025.
At the time of the interview with The Press, she said she was weighing her options, while local media had reported rumors about her ambitions in municipal politics – she announced her intention to run for a seat a few days later.
“I am and I will continue to be the voice of the voiceless,” she said.
Who is Delisha Boyd?
- Born in 1969, she is originally from New Orleans.
- She was elected in 2021 as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
- Before entering politics herself, she participated in various campaigns in her region. She started her own real estate agency.
- She has championed various bills, including on violence against women, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, surgical castration of convicted pedophiles and the right to abortion for rape victims.
