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Future Sex: Should Sex Offenders Be Chemically Castrated?

By Kelly Bourdet

Theres been an unexpected spike in castration-related news this week. I suppose that any news would constitute a spike, but still, theres an unprecedented two breaking news stories involving chemical castration. In outh Korea, !ollowing the sensational rape and murder o! a seven-year-old child, government o!!icials are contemplating introducing harsher punishments " including compulsory chemical castration " !or sex o!!enders. #lso in the news is the case o! a ydney doctor who was banned !rom practicing medicine a!ter prescribing chemical castration drugs as a $cure% !or an eighteen-year-old patients homosexuality. o, how, exactly, do you chemically castrate someone& #s we bravely rush !orward into a !uture where sexuality can be augmented and shaped " beyond a present which !eatures testosterone treatments and erectile dys!unction drugs !or men and hormone-based drugs !or women to increase libido " how do governments choose to ethically utili'e drugs that alter sexuality& I! you, like me, have ever had the mis!ortune to !all into the seemingly endless rabbit hole o! Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episodes available on (et!lix )i! you havent, its the o!!shoot where all detectives do is investigate horri!ic sex crimes, child murders, and pedophiles*, you start to !ind a common thread in the actions o! the police. omeone will

propose an ethically-+uestionable or !lat-out illegal techni+ue !or catching a pedophile,murderer,guest-star -obin .illiams and the lady /istrict #ttorney will wail, $But what about their civil liberties&0% #nd then hotheaded /etective 1lliott tabler will be like, $.hat do you care about& ome liberal bullshit civil liberties or saving this child&% #pologies !or the diversion, but its actually an appropriate use o! my otherwise useless knowledge o! the 23 canon. Today, when someone says, $sex o!!ender,% the rest o! us react like tabler. .e want to take the perp down4 well think about their civil liberties later. But theres a huge di!!erence between +uasi-legal entrapment on a T2 show and radically altering someones body and psyche via drug therapy at the states discretion.
12 Seasons of Elliot Stabler Bein a !ick"

/octor 5ohn 6oney !irst employed chemical castration in the 3nited tates in 7899. :e prescribed medroxyprogesterone acetate )6;#* !or a man struggling with pedophilic !antasies. 6;# is the base drug in the commonly used hormonal contraceptive /epo ;rovera, and 6;#-based chemical castration has been used in the 3nited tates since 99. In 7889, <ali!ornia was the !irst state to introduce legislation including compulsory chemical castration. The law stipulates that sex o!!enders convicted o! an o!!ense against a child under the age o! 7= may be treated with /epo ;rovera when on parole. I! it is their second o!!ense, they may not have the option to re>ect the treatment. ?lorida !ollowed suit with a similar statue in 788@ and at least seven other states " Aeorgia, Iowa, Bouisiana, 6ontana, Cregon, Texas, and .isconsin " have experimented with chemical castration. /epo ;rovera contains synthetic progesterone, a !emale sex hormone used to prevent pregnancy in women. The drug works in chemical castration by diminishing testosterone levels, leading to a decrease in sex drive and aggressive behaviors. The drug seems to have had some impressive results where its been used. -ecidivism rates are notoriously high !or sex o!!enders, and one study !ound that rates dropped !rom DEF recidivism !or the untreated study participants to G.HF !or surgically )not chemically* castrated participants. <hemically castrated individuals also show lower recidivism rates, but chemical castration is compliance-based, even when legally mandated, as individuals have to take their medications as prescribed or show up to receive in>ections o! the castrating drugs. 5oseph ?rank mith !amously underwent voluntary chemical castration in the 78DEs a!ter a conviction !or child molestation and became a vocal supporter o! the treatment. #t some point he stopped taking the castration drugs and was convicted o! molesting a !ive-year-old girl in 788D. Treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors has shown some e!!icacy in reducing compulsive sexual behaviors, notably in diminishing unwanted or undesirable !antasies, though this is more o! a pharmacological chemical augmentation than an actual castration. In 1urope, the antiandrogen drug cyproterone acetate is used in chemical castration. In 78IG computer scientist #lan Turing underwent chemical castration to avoid imprisonment. Turing wasnt a sex o!!ender4 he was gay, and at the time homosexuality was illegal in Areat Britain, thought o! as a mental disease that could be $cured.% Turing died two years later o! cyanide poisoning, which was apparently suicide. The gay (ew Jealand man at the center o! the #ustralian controversy was prescribed <;# a!ter coming out to his churchs minister, who suggested he go on the medication to !ree him o! the temptations o! his sexuality.

o, is chemical castration ethical in certain cases& I! so, how do governments implement the use o! these power!ul drugs& The #<B3 opposes compulsory chemical castrations, deeming it $cruel and unusual% punishment. Today, like lawmakers, were tasked with weighing the high recidivism rates and their possible conse+uences against the idea that a persons sexuality is theirs to en>oy and control. Its also di!!icult to predict the outcome o! en!orced chemical castration. In the !uture, will prospective pedophiles, those who have experienced pedophilic urges but have not acted upon them, also be deemed too dangerous to remain hormonally intact& Its possible, as compulsory medication has the potential to extend to other areas o! society. There are already provisions !or mandatory medication compliance !or schi'ophrenics in HG states in the 3 4 it seems likely that medication compliance laws could extend to other mental illnesses as well. The compulsory medication o! certain sectors o! society seems to be a +uick !ix to di!!icult problems, and it no doubt helps many sleep better at night. .ere a culture that seeks out pharmacological wonder solutions to very deep-seeded problems. It can also be hard to argue against state-mandated chemical castration without someone saying youre sympathetic to sex o!!enders, which I most assuredly am not. But I will always be skeptical about any policy that oversteps the bounds o! our rights to our own bodies.
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Debates

%his &ouse 'ould castrate sex offenders

6any people consider sexual abuse one o! the worst crimes a person can commit. In these circumstances, it has been proposed by some that such an o!!ender should be punished, normally in addition to a >ail term, by castration. <astration is the removal o! the sex glands, and is normally de!ined as a chemical process, using hormones to render them impotent. The goal o! such an operation would be to remove the sexual drive o! sex o!!enders which, proponents o! the procedure advocate, would drastically reduce the chances o! re-o!!ending. Cpponents o! the punishment argue, in contrast, that the punishment does not !it the crime and that it would not deter sex o!!enders once !reed.
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Points For Points Against

Castration, as a punishment, is proportionate to sex crimes

(oint
ex crimes, typically de!ined as crimes o! violence involving sex, are one o! the worst kinds o! crime, damaging its victim both physically and psychologically. ?or such a horri!ic crime,

a suitable punishment is needed. <astration !its the bill per!ectly. It has been shown that !or many sex o!!enders, the crime is caused by both psychological and physical urges " no rational counselling will prevent a repetition o! the crime. Thus castration does not only stop !urther crimes by the o!!ender )one o! the main purposes o! any punishment*, but it is a strong deterrent !or prospective o!!enders. ?urthermore, as /ouglas Besharov argues, the Ksexual abuse and violence in prisons merely heightens their propensity to commit !urther crime )Besharow, 788G*. <astration as the punishment !or sex o!!enders suits both perpetrator and victim, providing an e!!ective and speci!ic punishment !or a speci!ic crime.
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Counter)oint
<astration is not a !itting punishment !or any crime. Cur extreme personal disgust at the actions o! sex o!!enders must be separated !rom the administration o! a suitable punishment. ex o!!enders may all be guilty o! the same category o! crime, but motives di!!er !rom individual to individual. ubse+uently, their rehabilitative needs are distinct and uni+ue4 rational counselling could indeed work per!ectly well !or certain o!!enders. The #merican <ivil Biberties 3nion opposes the Kcoerced administration o! any drug, stating chemical castration is a Kcruel and unusual punishment constituting Knot a medical treatment, but rather an additional !orm o! punishment !or sex o!!enders due to the nature o! their crime ) palding, 788@*.
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Sex offenders have a right to seek treatment for the urge to re-offend

(oint
<astration will help the o!!enders themselves, by !reeing them !rom the urges that motivate them to re-o!!end. <ourt testimony has shown that many sexual criminals would dearly like to be !ree o! these urges, but cannot control their actions, much like a heroin addict cannot control theirs. Thus a chemical cure !or these urges will !ree the o!!ender. /r. 6artin :olly, a leading sexologist in ;rague, admitted Knone o! the nearly 7EE sex o!!enders who had been physically castrated had committed !urther o!!enses )Bile!sky, GEE8*. /r. ?red Berlin, citing separate studies, claimed re-o!!ending rates dropped below 7IF when participants were chemically castrated ) palding, 788@*.
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Counter)oint

<astration is an inade+uate means o! K!reeing sex o!!enders !rom the potential to re-o!!end. 1ven i! castration is combined with a >ail term, it is still a !ar cruder and less e!!ective treatment than prolonged psychotherapy. <hemical castration does not even begin to get at the psychological roots o! the o!!ender, !ocusing instead on a swi!t, easy solution to a problem that runs !ar deeper. /r.?red Berlin, in the same source mentioned opposite, believes Kthere are many sex o!!enders !or whom this is not going to be appropriate or use!ul ) palding, 788@*. #lso, the propositions argument places the legal emphasis on helping the o!!ender, and may give the appearance o! being a Kso!t touch on such people.
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A policy of castration will reduce the public hysteria and panic surrounding sex crimes

(oint
<astration will also help the widespread hysteria about the crimes o! a sexual nature. #t the moment, there is a massive stigmatisation o! sexual o!!enders, with them being Knamed and shamed publicly )!or example, by the (ews o! the .orld newspaper in Britain in the summer o! GEEE*, and hounded o!! their estates by mobs )as can be seen !rom the events a!ter the (ews o! The .orld campaign *. They are also sub>ect to a large amount o! violence in prison !rom other inmates. I! castration is introduced, the public would know that these people are no longer a threat, and they would be allowed to get on with their lives. <astration removes both the public stigmatisation and personal su!!ering o! sexual o!!enders, and should be embraced by the penal system.
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Counter)oint
There would be no such bene!it. The proposition has admitted that witch hunts take place over sexual o!!enders, and these are by de!inition not motivated by rational considerations. <astration would not end public anxiety4 >ust as declaring a mass murderer rehabilitated would not put his neighbours at ease. #lso, the prison violence, and indeed other violence, is not so much motivated by a !ear o! re-o!!ence as by the desire to punish !urther !or the original crime. <astration would not help under these circumstances. It is an unproven and unsubtle method that deserves no place in a modern penal system.
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The state has a duty to take effective steps to protect the public from sex offenders

(oint
The legislative and executive branches o! the state is e+uipped with the power to order sentencing that best suits both the o!!ender and society. ?or sex o!!enders that are ad>udged to

be at risk o! re-o!!ending no matter how long or harsh the prison sentence, castration should be ordered. exual castration would only be ordered however !or those o!!enders whom it would almost certainly reduce the risk o! re-o!!ending, !or it attacks the root, hormonal causes o! their criminal activity. Cnce administered, the o!!ender could be assessed and released i! it was !elt that his rehabilitation was complete and he was no !urther risk to society.
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Counter)oint
The precedence established by allowing the state to order that an individual be sub>ected to physical harm )separate and short o! death* is a slippery slope to the in!liction o! harm on o!!enders in other areas o! the law. I! sex o!!enders are to be castrated, why not !ollow the example o! audi #rabia and cut o!! the hands o! those convicted o! the!t& ?urthermore, capital punishment is still permitted in many places because, inter alia, it solves the issue o! re-o!!ending. <astration however o!!ers no such promises, it may remove part o! the sexual drive o! sex o!!enders but that neither prevents their ability to commit sex crimes, nor alters the psychological state o! mind that may have led them to their initial crime.
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Legal systems should not impose physical punishments upon convicts

(oint
Cur legal system works on the basis o! non-physical punishments !or crimes committed. .e have done away with the barbaric practice o! using physical pain or dis!igurement as a punishment !or other crimes in !avour o! a more enlightened system o! re!orming the o!!ender in prison. .hat would happen i! the suspect was later ac+uitted & " the process could not be reversed. .hen the death penalty was applied, many people were !ound to be innocent subse+uent to their execution " the same could happen here. 6andatory chemical castration inter!eres with a sex o!!enders K!undamental right to procreate and the right to re!use medical treatment ) palding, 788@*.
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Counter)oint
The legal system should be concerned with >ustice !or the victims, whether physical punishments or not. I! the right o! convicted sex o!!enders to reproduce is the price to be paid to protect the young potential victims o! sex crimes, it is a price worth paying. :ynek Blasko, whose 8 year old son was raped and killed in GEE8, described his disbelie! that Kno-one wants to touch the rights o! the paedophiles, but what about the rights o! a 8 year old boy with his

li!e ahead o! him& )Bile!sky, GEE8*. Barry /on 6cLuay, a convicted sex o!!ender, has also supported castration, claiming Kwhat is barbaric is what I have done to so many children4 re!using to castrate me is barbaric to the children I will molest )6cLuay, 788H*. I! physical punishment is the only means by which the legal system can protect both victims and sex o!!enders )!rom themselves*, it would be a dereliction o! their duty not to impose it.
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Castration is not an effective means of preventing recidivism amongst sex offenders

(oint
The evidence suggests that sexual castration is not an e!!ective treatment, !or sex o!!enders are not always driven by hormonal urges. #les Butala describes visiting the <'ech -epublic and coming across three cases in which Ksex o!!enders had committed serious sex-related crimes , including serial rape, a!ter being surgically castrated )5ohnston, GEE8*. ?urthermore, the #merican <ivil Biberties 3nion believes that Kdetermined sex o!!enders can, in all probability, reverse the e!!ect with other drugs ) palding, 788@*. I! the e!!ects o! castration are capable o! being circumvented, there is no punitive or deterrent argument in the operation.
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Counter)oint
<astration, used appropriately on speci!ic o!!enders and o!ten in con>unction with other rehabilitative measures, can be an e!!ective means o! reducing the threat o! sex o!!enders both to potential victims and themselves. Aoverner <elso 5a+ue o! 6endo'a, #rgentina announced in 6arch o! GE7E that Kby using medication that lowers the persons sexual desires and with psychological desire, the person can be reintroduced into society without being a threat )<(( .orld, GE7E*. The evidence suggests a clear correlation between castration and a reduction in the number o! repeat o!!ences4 Ka /anish study o! 8EE castrated sex o!!enders in the 789Es suggested the rate dropped to G.=F !rom DEF )Bile!sky, GEE8*.
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Castration reinforces the myth that sex crimes are motivated by sexual desire, not power

(oint
The ob>ective o! a penal system is to rehabilitate4 the castration o! sex o!!enders is one step away !rom the amputation o! the hands o! convicted pickpockets. #s the #<B3 argue, Kchemical castration does make sex o!!enders ready to !ace society, as would be potentially possible with committed and prolonged psychotherapy ) palding, 788@*. ?urthermore, the application o! castration indiscriminately risks needlessly targeting rapists who are not sadists

and paedophiles, and !or whom castration will have no positive punitive e!!ect upon )Aawande, 788@*.
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Counter)oint
The evidence !rom studies showing a clear correlation between castration and reductions in repeat o!!enses suggests that Kthe common argument- that rape is all about power, not sex, and there!ore castration wont work- is wrong )Aawande, 788@*. Tellingly, studies have shown that castrated sex o!!enders are o!ten still capable o! having sex, but the !act rates o! re-o!!ending stay low suggest their crimes are in !act about sexual desire, not power4 Kcastration takes the impulse away !rom those with an aberrant sexual orientation, o!ten to their relie! )Aawande, 788@*.
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