Alabama will now require those who have been convicted of raping any child under 13 to undergo chemical castration as a requirement of parole if they receive it.
The measure, signed into law Monday, will also require prisoners to pay for the treatment, but make it so that their ability to pay does not affect their receiving parole.
The sponsor of the bill, GOP Rep. Steve Hurst said this about the bill during the debate, "If it will help one or two children, and decrease that urge to the point that person does not harm that child, it's worth it."
The chemical castration would not be permanent and the parolee would only require the treatment as long as the court deemed it necessary.
Hurst also was questioned on the humanity of the bill and his response was, "...What's more inhumane than when you take a little infant child, and you sexually molest that infant child when the child cannot defend themselves or get away..."
Alabama is not the first state to have such a process in the law books. Some other states have the ability to have convicted pedophiles undergo some form of chemical castration in order to qualify for parole, but it's unclear how often it's used.