Chemical castration

Chemical castration is the administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity, usually in the hope of preventing rapists, child molesters and other sex offenders from repeating their crimes. Unlike surgical castration, where the testicles or ovaries are removed through an incision in the body, chemical castration does not actually castrate the person, nor is it a form of sterilization. For this reason the term "chemical castration" has been called a misnomer.

Chemical castration is generally considered reversible when treatment is discontinued, although permanent effects in body chemistry can sometimes be seen, as in the case of bone density loss increasing with length of use of Depo Provera. Castration has, from time to time, been used as an instrument of public and/or judicial policy despite concerns over human rights and possible side effects.

Application
Chemical castration involves the administration of anti-androgen drugs, such as cyproterone or the birth-control drug Depo-Provera, which is given as an injection every three months, making compliance easier to track.

Effects
When used on men, these drugs can reduce sex drive, compulsive sexual fantasies, and capacity for sexual arousal. Life-threatening side effects are rare, but some users show increases in body fat and reduced bone density, which increase long-term risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. They may also experience other "feminizing" effects such as gynecomastia (abnormal development of large mammary glands in males), reduced body hair, and loss of muscle mass.

Ethical objections
Although chemical castration is presented as a humane alternative to life-long imprisonment or surgical castration, the American Civil Liberties Union opposes the coerced administration of any drug, including antiandrogen drugs for sex offenders. They argue that forced chemical castration is a "cruel and unusual punishment", and therefore should be constitutionally prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. They also stated that it interfered with the right to procreate, and could expose users to various health problems. Law professor John Stinneford has argued that chemical castration, by exerting control over the mind of sex offenders to render them incapable of sexual desire, and subjecting them to the physical changes caused by the female hormones used, is a cruel and unusual punishment.

It has also been argued that, based on the Fourteenth Amendment, the procedure fails to guarantee equal protection - although the laws mandating the treatment do so without respect to gender, the actual effect of the procedure falls disproportionately upon men. In the case of voluntary statutes, the ability to give informed consent is also an issue; in 1984, the U.S. state of Michigan's court of appeals held that mandating chemical castration as a condition of probation was unlawful, on the grounds that the drug medroxyprogesterone acetate had not yet gained acceptance as being safe and reliable and also due to the difficulty of obtaining informed consent under these circumstances.

Studies
In 1981, in an experiment by P. Gagne, 48 males with long standing histories of sexually deviant behaviour were given medroxyprogesterone acetate for as long as 12 months. Forty of those subjects were recorded as to have diminished desires for deviant sexual behaviour, less frequent sexual fantasies, and greater control over sexual urges. The research recorded a continuation of this more positive behaviour after the administration of the drug had ended, with no evidence of adverse side effects, and recommended medroxyprogesterone acetate along with counselling as a successful method of treatment for serial sex offenders.

History and use by country
The first use of chemical castration occurred in 1944, when diethylstilbestrol was used with the purpose of lowering men's testosterone. Chemical castration is often seen as an easier alternative to life imprisonment or the death penalty, allowing the release of sex offenders while reducing or eliminating the chance that they reoffend.

United States
In 1966, John Money prescribed medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA, the base ingredient now used in Depo Provera) as a treatment for a patient dealing with pedophilic urges, becoming the first American to employ chemical castration. Since then, the drug has become a mainstay of chemical castration in America. Despite its long history and established use, the drug has never been approved by the FDA for use as a treatment for sexual offenders.

California was the first U.S. state to specify the use of chemical castration as a punishment for child molestation, following the passage of a modification to Section 645 of the California penal code in 1996. This law stipulates that anyone convicted of child molestation with a minor under 13 years of age may be treated with Depo Provera if they are on parole if it is their second offense and offenders may not reject the treatment.

The passage of this law led to similar laws in other states, such as Florida's Statute Section 794.0235 which was passed into law in 1997. As in California, treatment is mandatory after a second offense.

Besides California and Florida, at least seven other states, including Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin, have experimented with chemical castration. In Iowa, as in California and Florida, offenders may be sentenced to chemical castration in all cases involving serious sex offenses. On June 25, 2008, following a Supreme Court ruling that the execution of child rapists where the victim was not killed was unconstitutional, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed Senate Bill 144, allowing Louisiana judges to sentence convicted rapists to chemical castration.

Europe
The drug cyproterone acetate has been commonly used for chemical castration throughout Europe. It is similar to the drug MPA used in America.

In the United Kingdom, computer scientist Alan Turing, famous for his contributions to mathematics and computer science, was a homosexual who chose to undergo chemical castration in order to avoid imprisonment in 1952. At the time, homosexuality was still illegal and considered to be a mental illness that could be treated with chemical castration. Turing experienced side effects such as breast enlargement and bloating of the physique. Two years later, he committed suicide. In 2009, the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, issued a public apology for the British government's "appalling" actions after an online petition seeking the same gained 30,000 signatures and international recognition.

In the 1960s, German physicians used antiandrogens as a treatment for sexual paraphilia.

On September 25, 2009 Poland passed legislation for forcible chemical castration of child molesters. This law came into effect on June 9, 2010 so in Poland "anyone guilty of raping a child under the age of 15 can now be forced to submit to chemical and psychological therapy to reduce sex drive at the end of a prison term".

On April 30, 2010 a man in the United Kingdom found guilty of attempting to murder a 60-year-old woman in order to abduct and rape her two granddaughters, agreed to undergo chemical castration as part of the terms of his sentence.

Israel
In May 2009, two brothers from Haifa, convicted child molesters, agreed to undergo chemical castration to avoid committing further crimes.

Australia
In 2010, a repeat child sex offender who had been subject to chemical castration inappropriately touched and kissed a young girl. He was found not guilty by a jury, which was not informed of the context of his previous offences.

Argentina
In March 2010 Mendoza, a province in Argentina, approved a new law which allows rapists to voluntarily undergo chemical castration therapy in return for reduced sentences.

New Zealand
In New Zealand the antilibidinal drug cyproterone acetate is sold under the name Androcur. In November 2000 convicted paedophile Robert Jason Dittmer attacked a victim while on the drug. In 2009 a study into the effectiveness of the drug by Dr David Wales for the Corrections Department found that no research had been conducted in New Zealand into the effectiveness and such trials were ethically and practically very difficult to carry out.

South Korea
In July 2011, South Korea enacted a law allowing judges the power to sentence sex offenders who have attacked children under the age of 16 to chemical castration.