Alabama has signed into law a bill that requires some convicted paedophiles to undergo chemical castration.<\/p>\n
Under the law, those found guilty of a sex offence against a minor under the age of 13 will have to start sex-drive-lowering medication a month before being released on parole.<\/p>\n
A court will decide when it is no longer necessary.<\/p>\n
There are now seven states, including Louisiana and Florida, with chemical castration laws.<\/p>\n
The bill was signed into law by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Monday. “This is a step toward protecting children in Alabama,” she said.<\/p>\n
Offenders will be required to pay for the medication.<\/p>\n
The measure was proposed by Republican representative Steve Hurst. He said he had been affected by hearing an account from a foster care organisation of a small child being sexually assaulted.<\/p>\n
The bill has been criticised by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama. Executive director Randall Marshall told AL.com: “It’s not clear that this actually has any effect and whether it’s even medically proven.<\/p>\n
“When the state starts experimenting on people, I think it runs afoul of the Constitution.”<\/p>\n
The treatment, usually administered in a tablet form or by injection, blocks testosterone production and affects a person’s sex drive.<\/p>\n
However it is usually reversed when treatment is discontinued.<\/p>\n
In 2009, a number of\u00a0prisoners in the UK took part in a pilot scheme where they were chemically castrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was trialled with volunteer offenders with a “high level of sexual arousal or intense sexual fantasies or urges”.<\/p>\n Criminal psychiatrist Don Grubin said that those trialled reported “marked changes in their lives”.<\/p>\n In 2016, Indonesia passed a law authorising chemical castration, minimum sentences and execution for convicted paedophiles. At the time, Prijo Sidipratomo from the Indonesian Doctors Association branded it “harmful” and “against human rights”.<\/p>\n South Korea enacted a chemical castration law in July 2011.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"