The Oklahoma legislature in the United States has approved legislation that authorises the chemical castration of serious sex offenders.
The measure permits judges to order chemical castration for people convicted of first or second-degree rape or forcible sodomy. Repeat offenders could be subject to surgical castration under the bill.
The measure now goes to Governor Frank Keating for final approval.
In the chemical castration process, drugs are used to reduce the amount of the male hormone testosterone the body produces.
The sponsor, Senator Frank Shurden, has been trying to get a castration law on the books since the early 1970s.
He has said castration has been effective in Europe in reducing recidivism by sex offenders. – Sapa-AP