Judges in Louisiana could be granted authority to order surgical castration of persons convicted of sexual offences against young children following the approval of the bill by the state legislature.

The landmark bill approved on Monday would allow the implementation of the procedure for persons convicted of heinous sex crimes – including rape, molestation, and incest — against a child under 13 to undergo a surgical procedure to block sex-drive hormones like testosterone, as per BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)

It’s now left for Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to officially sign into law, which would make it the first US state to impose the penalty.

Louisiana and several other states had already permitted the use of chemical castration for such heinous crimes, but none have passed laws for the much more invasive surgical procedure.

While chemical castration has been legal in Louisiana since 2008, it’s reported only about one or two persons have been forced to undergo the procedure, the New York Times reports.