Castration to Stop Criminal Behaviour Dominated by Hypersexuality - should doctors get involved as agents of social control?

medical castration with LHRH agonists (diagram from www.patienthealthinternational.com)

[Prizzi Zarsadias & Josephine Hayes wrote in BMJ Group mailings];

'There are many ways to increase your sex drive, from aphrodisiacs to Viagra. But what about people who need to reduce it? Many European countries and several US states are considering, or already use, chemical castration of sex offenders as part of rehabilitation. Antiandrogenic drugs are used to stop offenders being dominated by sexual thoughts and drive. Some offenders request physical castration to control their sexual urges. But there are questions about doctors' involvement in the process and the side effects of the treatments'

Don Grubin, professor of forensic psychiatry and Anthony Beech, professor in criminological psychology wrote an interesting editorial article in BMJ supporting this case.

Read more;

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/jan12_2/c74?ijkey=rcCG6E9p6AKqY&keytype=ref&siteid=bmjjournals&utm_campaign=6913607&utm_content=40010313952&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Emailvision