A. Chemical castration and male sex offenders
For many years, the U.S. has sought to eliminate sexual offenses by treating sexual offenders with various methods such as behavioral modification therapy, relapse prevention and cognitive reconditioning ("Review of the research literature," 2001, p. 5). Since 1981, with the discovery of the effectiveness of specific hormones in reducing testosterone levels in human beings (Berlin & Meinecke, 1981), hormone therapy, known as chemical castration, has been tested extensively on sex offenders. Essentially, the objective of administering these drugs is to reduce the blood serum testosterone levels and lead to a concomitant decrease in sexual arousal and sexual preoccupations. The drugs work by acting on the hypothalamus, thus triggering the release of hormones from the pituitary gland, which controls sperm production. Most significantly, men using these drugs can still enjoy normal sexual activity, while curbing deviant sexual tendencies (Cummings & Buell, 1997).
In recent years, five states have permitted courts to treat recidivist sex offenders with Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (MA), or Depo-Provera--the drug used for the treatment of sex offender in the U.S. For example, California passed a mandatory castration bill that required chemical castration of a second-time sex offender guilty of committing a sex crime against a child below the age of 13. According to this law, sexual offenders would be injected with MA one week before they leave prison. Throughout their parole, they will be injected with the hormone on a weekly basis. During this treatment, the sex offenders should also undergo therapy ("Review of the research literature," 2001, p. 5).
The use of chemical castration as a form of treatment for sex offenders has stirred up tremendous controversy from concerns about medical risks to constitutional issues ("Review of the research literature," 2001, p. 5). The focus of this ...