Click Below to Read the RAA Letter to Louisiana Legislators:

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Call to Action for Louisiana’s HB 166 (forced vasectomy) and SB 371 (forced surgical castration for females and males)

What you need to know about HB 166 and SB 371:

• Louisiana’s House Representative Delisha Boyd is the sponsor of HB 166 which states: “In addition to any other penalties provided by law, any person who is convicted of a sex offense as defined in R.S. 15:541 may be subject to a vasectomy procedure.”
• Louisiana’s Senator Regina Barrow is the sponsor of SB 371 which would allow for convicted sex offenders (male and female) who have committed an aggravated sexual offense against a victim under 13 years old to be surgically castrated by the state.

 Please do the following:

• Email or call members of the Louisiana legislature.  Contact information is provided below.
• State that you are OPPOSED to these bills and why you oppose them.
• If you are a constituent of a Louisiana legislator, make sure you mention that.
• If you do not reside in Louisiana, you do not have to mention this fact.  You are an American citizen who is alarmed that people in this country could have their body mutilated similarly to the way it is done in some Middle Eastern countries.
• If you choose to call and voicemail picks up, leave your name (if you are comfortable doing so) and a message.  Voicemails should be counted.
• Ask family members and friends to contact the Louisiana legislators to OPPOSE these bills.
• Always be cordial in your communications with the legislators.  They are more likely to listen to you.
• If you choose to use some of the talking points given below, please do not copy/paste everything.  Write as much as you can in your own words.  It is not necessary to try to use all the talking points, only the ones you choose to use.
• You do NOT have to use our talking points if you have your own that you prefer.

Talking points:

Both bills are state-sanctioned eugenics, and represent an affront to bodily autonomy. These bills, if enacted into law, would violate the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as it would mandate forced mutilation resulting in a permanent loss of an important bodily function as a form of criminal punishment.

If passed into law, these two bills will both be challenged with lawsuits and will not stand up in a court of law.

You are apprehensive about visiting a state where amputation and mutilation are used as a form of punishment for certain crimes.

If these bills pass in Louisiana, what will be next?  Will bills be introduced to cut off the hands of all thieves? Are we comfortable opening the door for states to administer such barbaric punishments for other offenses? 

Email addresses for Louisiana legislators’ can be found here:

Louisiana Legislators Email Addresses

Phone numbers for Louisiana’s House of Representatives can be found here:

https://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_FullInfo

Phone numbers for Louisiana’s Senators can be found here:

https://senate.la.gov/Senators_FullInfo

Every email/call gets heard and tallied.  Every respectful conversation with a staffer is an excellent opportunity to change a mind about our community with someone who has direct contact with a lawmaker.  YOUR EFFORTS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!