From: Friar@thef0rT.com   
      
   Child molestation is a serious problem in the United States. The legal   
   system is lenient with pedophiles, punishing them with insufficiently   
   brief prison sentences that are further abbreviated by the option of   
   parole. Some child molesters are released back into society after   
   serving as little as one fourth of their prison-time (1). Recidivism   
   is extremely high among child molesters; 75% are convicted more than   
   once for sexually abusing young people (6). Pedophiles commit sexual   
   assault for a variety of reasons. Some rape children because of   
   similar instances of abuse in their own childhoods (1). Some view the   
   act of molestation as a way to gain power over another individual (1).   
   Some pedophiles act purely on sexual desires. No matter what causes   
   these heinous criminals to molest children, their crimes are   
   inexcusable. Unfortunately, utilizing prison as a punishment for child   
   molestation creates only a Band-Aid solution for the issue of sexual   
   assault and other resolutions need to be investigated.   
      
   Alternative options for the punishment of male pedophiles are being   
   explored in the status quo. Scientists have observed the link between   
   testosterone and aggression and concluded that high levels of   
   testosterone correspond with increased violent and aggressive behavior   
   in men (5). "It is the reason that stallions are high strung and   
   impossible to train, the reason male dogs become vicious and start to   
   bite people. It's why boys take chances and chase girls, why they   
   drive too fast and deliberately start fights. In violent criminals,   
   these tendencies are exaggerated and carried to extremes" (8). In an   
   effort to stop male pedophiles, male child molesters have the option   
   of being chemically castrated in some states. "Chemical castration is   
   a term used to describe treatment with a drug called Depo-Provera   
   that, when given to men, acts on the brain to inhibit hormones that   
   stimulate the testicles to produce testosterone" (2). Depo-Provera is   
   a common birth control pill that containing a synthetic version of the   
   female hormone progesterone. Advocates of chemical castration hope   
   that injections of Depo-Provera will prevent men from molesting   
   children.   
      
      
    (2). Additionally, Depo-Provera is reversible. Therefore, unless   
   injections are mandatory and monitored, pedophiles will not be "cured"   
   by the drug therapy. The child molester will have renewed sexual   
   fantasies and high levels of testosterone if the injections are   
   discontinued (7). Joseph Frank Smith, a convicted child molester,   
   became an advocate for chemical castration after undergoing the   
   therapy in the 1980s. Smith stopped using the injections in 1989. In   
   1999, he was convicted for molesting a five-year old girl and   
   immediately returned to prison (3). Depo-Provera also has caused side   
   effects in some men "including depression, fatigue, diabetes, [and]   
   blood clots" (2). Chemical castration may cause some detrimental   
   effects in child molesters.   
      
      
   Regardless, Depo-Provera has been proven to inhibit the abilities of   
   pedophilias to assault children. The progesterone in Depo-Provera   
   counteracts the biological tendencies that lead men to rape children   
   (4). By lowering testosterone, Depo-Provera reduces sex drive (6).   
   Males can have sexual intercourse (7) but do not want to. Depo-Provera   
   also decreases aggressive tendencies by reducing testosterone. "[T]he   
   castrated criminal would be more docile and have a better opportunity   
   to be rehabilitated, educated, and to become a worthwhile citizen"   
   (1). Castration removes the biological and chemical tendencies that   
   are intrinsically linked to the desire to rape in males.   
      
      
   Depo-Provera also reduces recidivism rates. When used as a mandatory   
   condition of parole (6), chemical castration decreases the occurrence   
   of repeat offenses from 75% (6) to 2% (1). Prison is less desirable   
   because it serves no rehabilitative purpose for sexual offenders.   
   Pedophiles who spend time festering in a prison cell are given   
   extensive downtime to concoct new sordid sexual fantasies involving   
   children. These horrific visions are translated into terrifying   
   realities once the criminal comes back into contact with children   
   following his inevitable release from prison (1). Prison simply   
   produces sneakier criminals. Pedophiles do not want to be incarcerated   
   again so they think of new ways to rape children that will avoid   
   detection and future detention (6). Prison increases aggressive   
   tendencies in male pedophiles while chemical castration addresses the   
   root causes of sexual assault and decreases further sexual deviance.   
      
      
   Although chemical castration is not the perfect solution to inhibit   
   child molestation, it discourages sexual assault better than   
   incarceration. Injections of Depo-Provera decrease the aggressive   
   tendencies that lead to rape in males. Castration also discourages   
   sexual fantasies and eradicates sexual obsessions. Pedophiles are   
   reduced to apathetic pacifists. Regulated chemical castration should   
   be encouraged as an alternative to prison for male child molesters in   
   order to stop recidivism and decrease instances of sexual assault.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)