Sunday 19 May 2013

2103 ... That Such A Question Need Be Asked

18 May 2013

Is surgical castration is an ethical option for sex offenders?

"The German and Czech governments allow sex offenders to be surgically castrated – provided that they give informed consent to the procedure. This has put them at loggerheads with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). It has denounced the practice as degrading treatment which should be ended immediately.

Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, John McMillan, of the University of Otago, in New Zealand, argues that the CPT is mistaken. All the evidence shows that prisoners are not coerced and that they choose this option freely [sic] in an effort to pull their damaged lives together.

There are various options open to sex offenders who want physiological assistance in controlling their sex drive. Chemical castration is reversible – but more expensive. The Czech government says that it cannot afford it. An orchidectomy is the surgical removal of the testes. This is uncommon nowadays."

http://www.bioedge.org/index.php/bioethics/bioethics_article/10519

The kindest cut? Surgical castration, sex offenders and coercive offers

http://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2013/05/10/medethics-2012-101030.full

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