BATON ROUGE -- Castration could be a sentencing option for some sex offenders in Louisiana under a bill approved by a state Senate judiciary committee.

The bill by Senator Nick Gautreaux, an Abbeville Democrat, requires a judge to order treatment for certain second-offense sex criminals with a specific drug designed to diminish male sexual urges -- if a medical expert agrees that the treatment would be effective.

An offender who doesn't want the treatment could opt for physical castration. Gautreaux says some offenders may indeed want castration in hopes of avoiding the drug's side effects or permanently ending the sexual urges that led to their crimes. His bill goes next to the full Senate.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)