Essay on Chemical Castration

Chemical Castration Term Papers

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CHEMICAL CASTRATION

The United States has always sought ways of punishing criminals, but it has begun to seriously crack down on sex offenders, especially child molesters. President Clinton proposed Megan's Law to the country, a law that required previous sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement agencies. This was inspired by the murder of Megan Kanka, a young girl murdered by her neighbor who was a convicted sex offender. Since the proposal, twenty states require registry and eleven of those require the lists of sex offenders to be posted in a public place. This was just the beginning of the harsh laws soon to be passed against sex offenders.

In 1996, California raised the idea of chemical castration, which had been previously contemplated. The idea of using Depo-Provera and other hormones started in the US in the mid 1960's. Many states such as Michigan, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts have tried to get the laws in favor of chemical castration passed, but were unsuccessful. Those states were not able to pass the law because, it was found to be unconstitutional. California was able to pass the law with an assembly vote of fifty-one to eight, and the senate passed it with a similar vote on September 17, 1996. The law was introduced as California Penal Code s.645. On January 1, 1997, the state began practicing this law. The new law stated that chemical castration would be mandatory for twice convicted child molesters in order for parole.

Chemical castration is an injection of medroxyprogesterone, or better known as Depo-Provera. The treatment begins one week before parole and continues weekly. The offender does have the option to refuse the injections, but then he/she can not be paroled and must remain in prison. The dosage will be in 400- 500 mg injections of Depo-Provera. Depo-Provera is a drug that lowers men's testosterone levels which decreases their sex drive. In theory, this would prevent sex offenders from committing any more sex crimes. Numerous studies have been published that support the chemical castrations effectiveness, but there is also a lot of evidence that does not support the mandatory use of chemical castration on convicted sex offenders. This evidence raises a powerful question:

Statement of the Question

"Should Convicted rapists/child molesters be required to undergo

chemical castration before parole?"

"Yes" Answers

Sex offenders deserve to be punished and there must be something done before they can be paroled. Doing nothing has little or no effect on their behavior and once released the offender has a good chance of committing a sex crime again. Attorney General Janet Reno alleges that the percentage of child molesters that are repeat offenders are as high as 75%. According to Fred Berlin, founder of Sexual Disorders Clinic at John Hopkins University, molesters have a recidivism rate of approximately 65%. These numbers prove that action must be taken against these offenders.

Several studies of castrated sex offenders have been published, which prove its effectiveness. Of sex offenders who have been chemically castrated, the rates dropped down to 15% which is still not perfect, but at least it is something. In 1991, John Hopkins Medical Center revealed a study of 626 chemically castrated patients, only 10% had committed sexual offenses five years after treatment. In Denmark and Sweden chemical castration reduces the repeat rates from 50% to 10%. In Holland, of 700 sex offenders castrated after multiple convictions, relapse rates dropped from between 17% and 50% to 2%. Even though it was not done by chemical castration, it still shows that severe action must be taken in order to reduce repeat offenders from attacking again. These studies prove that chemical castration is a successful technique when preventing repeat acts of sex offenders. When the treatment is combined with psychological therapy it has an especially high success rate with sex offenders who are driven by sexual fantasies.

The highest success rates are when the chemical castration is done voluntarily. In Texas, Larry Don McQuay had claimed to have molested over 200 children and said he would continue upon his release. He begged the judge to be castrated because, he knew what he was doing was wrong. Here the offender shows determination to get help. This raises the question of whether or not the treatment should be mandatory.

"No" Answers

There are many groups and individuals that are opposed to the mandatory chemical castration of repeat sex offenders for various reasons. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is one of the largest groups to object to the chemical castration law. They believe that it violates "bodily integrity" because, of its potential side effects. These side effects which are caused by chemical castration include high blood pressure, gall bladder problems, weight gain, testicular atrophy , mild depression, malaise, hyper glycemia and rare changes in liver enzymes.

Another major problem with the mandatory chemical castration is that not all sex offenders are motivated by their libido or sex drive. According to Kate Thomas, Associate Director of National Institute for...

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