BY JIM ALTENBERG

SAN FRANCISCO - In a new move against privacy and other democratic rights, the California State Assembly passed a bill August 30 allowing the state to chemically castrate people convicted of child molestation. Governor Pete Wilson has said he will sign the bill, which could become effective January 1. Similar laws are being considered in Texas, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. Also sent to the governor's desk is a California version of the so-called "Megan's Law," which would allow local citizens to review police listings of registered "sex offenders" in their area.

Under the bill, a person convicted twice of child molestation would be forced to take shots of the powerful contraceptive drug Depo-Provera, or undergo surgical castration. Depo-Provera has been shown to slow sexual impulses in men by causing their testicles to shrink, or, in the coarse language of one of the bill's promoters, it turns "stones into pebbles." It is not yet known whether its effects are irreversible. Known side effects of the drug are similar to those of menopause, including hot flashes, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, nightmares, fatigue, and circulatory problems. It can also cause diabetes in people prone to that disease. The law provides for no psychological treatment for those forced to take the drug. The shots would continue until a panel of "experts" deemed the person rehabilitated or until his parole ended.

Backers of the bill have pointed to Denmark, where such injections have been used for many years, to paint a "humane" picture of the practice. But Danish prison officials admit that it only treats symptoms, and that extensive psychotherapy is required. Faced with a choice of remaining in prison or taking the shots, 26 prisoners in that country have agreed to take them since 1989. Yet 10 of these men remain in prison, some with sentences of unlimited length.  
 
 
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