LOS MARGINADOS: BioEdge: Indonesian President adamant on chemical castration policy

domingo, 23 de octubre de 2016

BioEdge: Indonesian President adamant on chemical castration policy

BioEdge: Indonesian President adamant on chemical castration policy

Bioedge

Indonesian President adamant on chemical castration policy

by Michael Cook | 22 Oct 2016 |

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has told the BBC that his new policy of chemical castration could “wipe out” paedophilia in his country. He said that "our constitution respects human rights, but when it comes to sexual crimes there is no compromise. We are strong and we will be very firm. We will hand out the maximum penalty for sexual crimes."

The new law follows a number of high-profile sex crimes. He told the BBC that: "In my opinion… chemical castration, if we enforce it consistently, will reduce sex crimes and wipe them out over time."

Chemical castration, which involves the use of drugs to reduce libido, was approved over strong resistance from the Indonesian Doctors Association. They declared that it was unethical and against human rights. Dr Prijo Sidipratomo, chairman of the Association’s medical ethics committee, published a fierce denunciation of the penalty in the BBC:

You cannot cure paedophilia by chemical castration. How long can it last? Let's say the patient has it for three years while in jail. But after his release he can go to a doctor and reverse it with hormone therapy. Chemical castration is not completely irreversible, so it is not effective.

Furthermore, the punishment cannot be done as long as the executor is a medical doctor, because we have to uphold medical ethics. When you become a doctor, you have to swear that you won't do anything harmful to any human being. My message to all doctors across Indonesia is that as long as you're a doctor, you cannot do it, even if the government says it is to punish a rapist.

The President's response is that if doctors refuse, he will use military doctors. "There are lots of people who want to do it. That's not a problem."

We goofed and we're eating humble pie. Wednesday, October 19, was World Bioethics Day. I'm afraid that it passed unnoticed at BioEdge, perhaps because every day is World Bioethics Day here. But was also the first time it was celebrated, so we shall be better prepared next year.

However, it appears that very few people were popping champagne bottles in the UK and US even though they must have the larges number of bioethicists. No events were planned in the United Kingdom, only one in the US, and 29 in India. World-wide, there were events in 55 countries, most on the theme of the Day, "human dignity and human rights".