MPs in the lower house of parliament have voted for Poland to become the first nation in the EU to chemical castrate pedophiles.

MPs voted almost unanimously, Friday morning, to pass an amendment to the penal code which would enable chemical castration.

The bill covers sexual crimes against those under 15 years of age and incestuous rape. The bill also covers internet grooming of a minor.

The amendment  - which has yet to pass through the upper house, the Senate - stipulates that courts will decide on whether or not to impose chemical castration six months before a criminal is released from jail.

Chemical castration is, in fact, a misnomer as the procedure is a series of medical treatments that reduce libido with the hope of deterring sex offenders from committing repeat offenses. The procedure, theoretically, leaves no long-term physical damage and the effects are reversible once treatment ceases, say doctors.

If passed into law Poland would become the first nation in the EU to pass such a law and almost the first in the world.

Several states in the United States employ chemical castration as a means of punishing sex offenders – California state law mandates the treatment for first-time sex offenders of victims under 13 years of age. (mmj/pg)