NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Tennessee lawmaker has filed legislation calling for the castration of convicted sex offenders.

Rep. Bruce Griffey (R – Paris) filed House Bill 1585 which would require a person convicted of a sex crime involving a person under 13-years-old to undergo chemical castration as part of parole.

The felon would receive certain medication that would reduce or block the production of testosterone, hormones, or other chemicals in a person's body.

The bill says this would only apply if the person convicted is eligible for parole. The measure states that the person can choose to stop the treatments, but that would be a violation of parole.

It also said the treatment would be administered by the Tennessee Department of Health. NewsChannel 5 reached out to the department for comment and got the following response:

The Tennessee Department of Health does not comment on pending legislation. We review all bills filed through our internal process.



If passed, the legislation would take effect July 1, 2020.