What an MRI may tell us about Pedophiles

We have always kind of assumed that something must be wrong in the mind of a pedophile. The average person just doesn't consider it "normal" to be attracted to children and it certainly isn't acceptable to act on that attraction. But it's not like we're able to just look at the brain and see a sign that reads "warning: pedophile in here". Or can we? Research indicates that we may be able to take an MRI brain scan and see clues that someone is likely to be a pedophile. The brain of the pedophile appears to have a smaller area of grey matter than that of the average person. This leads to the conclusion that an MRI scan has the potential to predict pedophiliac behavior before it takes place. Of course, this brings up a number of ethical problems. We can't just order that everyone undergoes an MRI scan at birth. And we can't punish people for crimes that didn't yet occur. But in in the interest of keeping the public safe, an MRI scan might be one diagnostic tool used in the assessment of criminals who appear to be on a path towards committing crimes against children. It's a narrow tightrope to walk. Medical technology may allow us more insight into the brain of those people who are harming society. But our constitutional rights and the justice system act in a sort of checks-and-balances way to make sure that we don't abuse medical insights to incarcerate people for things they haven't done. Question of the Day: When do you think an MRI brain scan should be used to determine the likelihood that someone will be a pedophile? photo link

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