Scanner Nicole told you about the case of the two assisted living residents, the 95-year-old man and the 82-year-old woman, who were found engaging in oral sex... by the man's son.
Now, we ask you: are old people who are "losing it" well enough to give consent... to have sex?
This one's a heartbreaker, unless you're the freaked-out son, who demanded the facility separate the couple permanently.
After that, Dorothy stopped eating. She lost 21 pounds, was treated for depression, and was hospitalized for dehydration. When Bob was finally moved out of the facility in January, she sat in the window for weeks waiting for him. She doesn't do that anymore, though: "Her Alzheimer's is protecting her at this point," says her doctor, who thinks the loss might have killed her if its memory hadn't faded so mercifully fast.
We had a relative who had Alzheimer's before he passed. If he had had sex with another patient, we doubt anyone would've cared. Why not have a few kicks before the finally one (of the bucket, that is.) The man had been a cool dude in his time-- a jazz musician, no less-- so why would we want to take away his last shred of dignity?
The debate goes on in this three-page story on Slate.
Previously: Shocker! Old People Still Alive