MOLDOVA CHEMICAL CASTRATION FOR CONVICTED PEDOPHILES LEGALIZED

huffingtonpost.com/Corneliu Rusnac

According to new legislation introduced Tuesday, foreigners convicted of sexually abusingchildren in Moldova will be mandatorily castrated.  The new law states foreign and Moldovannationals found guilty of pedophilia will be chemically castrated, while courts will ruleseparately on those found guilty of rape.  The law was approved by parliament after lawmakerssaid the impoverished nation was attracting pedophiles from the West.  It will becomeeffective July 1.  Chemical castration involves the administration of testosterone-suppressinghormones every three months, which are intended to curb sexual drive and male fertility.  Thenew legislation follows similar developments in other countries, which have been moving ahead withlaws allowing mandatory chemical castration for sex offenders.
- Britain, Denmark and Sweden sex offenders are offered chemical castration drugs on avoluntary basis.  In the United States, several states have laws allowing chemical castration.
- The Czech republic has mandatory chemical castration for some offenders, a matter which isdecided by the courts.
- Poland legalized the procedure in 2009 for offenders who rape minors or close relatives.
- Russia gave first round approval to a bill that would impose chemical castration on repeatsex offenders in apparent reaction to a string of highly publicized pedophile scandals.
- Turkey drafted a proposal last year by legislators from the conservative, Islamic-rootedruling party for the chemical castration of pedophiles and rapists received little support and hassince been shelved.
- France brought a bill before France's national Assembly, the lower house of parliament,proposing making chemical castration mandatory for those convicted of raping minors younger than 15failed to pass a constitutional committee and was dropped.
The Council for Europe in February called on Germany to do away with the practice ofsurgical castration, calling the procedure degrading to convicted criminals.  The committeealso criticized the Czech Republic in 2009 for its use of surgical castration.