The chair of the House Judiciary Committee says he won’t be advancing a bill that would allow surgical castration of Iowans convicted of sexually abusing kids under the age of 12.
Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, says he doesn’t believe this would deter sex offenders and he will look for other ways to prevent sexual abuse.
Amy Campbell, a lobbyist for the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, says kids are almost always assaulted by somebody they know, and harsh penalties can keep families from reporting abuse.
“We do have chemical castration, and so we don’t feel that this next step will be helpful in deterring and preventing sexual assaults and may actually cause less reporting. So that is the main reason behind our opposition.”
No one testified in support of surgical castration. Louisiana is the only state that allows it.