Castration: An Option for Sex Offenders

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."

(Matthew 5:29, 30)

Castration. The ultimate punishment for men who dare to violate one of society's most despised taboos. Perhaps the most apropos revenge against the child molester...the sex offender!

Or is it?

Castration as a punishment is clearly a violation of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. This has already been upheld in several U.S. courts. Castration as a treatment of sex offenders may also be a constitutional violation if it is done as a condition for release or parole or as a way to avoid incarceration (Bund, 1997).

Considered a father of Western medicine, Hippocrat...

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But what if an offender, or an individual who fears he may become an offender, chooses to be castrated as part of a comprehensive treatment program? Does he have this right? Is it the right thing for him to do? Does it matter if it's the right thing to do if he chooses this route? What position should society take?

The purpose of this paper is to examine a person's right to choose to be castrated. In order to be more fully informed on this subject, there are several ancillary and yet important topics that need to be addressed. In this paper, I will discuss the logistics and details of the various castration procedures. In doing so, I will juxtapose surgical castration with so-called "chemical castration."...