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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama lawmaker wants convicted sex offenders to pay for their own surgical castration.

Steve Hurst, a Republican from Munford, Ala., has introduced a bill that would require sex offenders older than 21 to pay for their own surgical castration before being released from state custody.

The bill would limit the procedure to people convicted of certain sex offenses against victims 12 years old or younger.

Hurst says offenders should be “marked for life.”

A handful of states have chemical castration laws on the books, but none mandates physical surgery.

A John Hopkins University professor who studies sexual disorders says lowering offenders’ testosterone levels reduces libido, which combats sexual urges and possibly reduces recidivism in some cases. But he cautions against a “one size fits all” approach.

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