A lawmaker who introduced a bill to allow child molesters to undergo voluntary surgical castration says the goal is to help treat inmates with "uncontrollable urges."
"Some of these people have said, `I want to stop. I know that I'm not going to be able to control my urges when I get out of prison,' " said Republican state Sen. Teel Bivins.The bill was approved Wednesday by the Senate's Health and Human Services Committee and now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
At least one medical ethics expert called the proposal barbaric.
"I think that you're in a dangerous area when you let the government punish you by taking away your right and ability to reproduce," said Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
He said that if a molester wishes to be castrated, it should be done through reversible, chemical means - "taking a pill that basically turns your hormones down."
Bivins said his bill would require psychiatric evaluation and counseling and prohibit the use of castration as part of a plea bargain or sentencing.
He said surgical castration has been used in other countries, and studies indicate that the offenders are far less likely to repeat their crimes.
No state allows sex offenders to have their testicles removed, Cap-lan said.
Bivins said his interest in the issue was sparked by a man in Houston who in 1992 asked to be cas-trated rather than tried on charges of raping a 13-year-old girl. The deal was called off when two doctors reneged on offers to perform the surgery.