Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday he supported adopting chemical castration to punish pedophiles.
“Punishments should be as harsh as possible. The state should use all means possible, and a liberal approach here is totally unacceptable," he said. "I suggest discussion of measures including medical procedures for such individuals, including injections that would block the action of their hormones."
Medvedev said the procedure – in which subjects are given drugs to reduce their libido – should only be done if the offenders asked for it. As if to ward off potential criticism, he noted that “a whole set of very developed countries has adopted this measure.”
According to ever-reliable Wikipedia, a bunch of US states have toyed with the measure, as have the UK, Israel and Argentina, but always when the pedophile asked for it. Poland famously adopted a forced chemical castration law last year.
Russia’s Investigative Committee first announced last month it was working on a chemical castration law.
Tatyana Yakovleva, a member of the ruling United Russia Party on the Duma’s health committee, said the law should involve forcible chemical castration. “I support President Dmitry Medvedev’s proposal on adopting chemical castration for pedophiles, but, in my view, this should be done not willingly but on a mandatory basis.” The move has already been supported by Medvedev’s human rights ombudsman Mikhail Fedotov and his chief child rights advisor Pavel Astakhov, according to Newsru.
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