Can anyone with an IQ of 48 and a "moderate" learning disability consent to sex?

[Zywiec]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=350270&mesg_id=350270

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Judge+bans+with+from+having/4225699/story.html#ixzz1D2RzFmoF

I think no, but believe there might be other opinions based on a previous thread and a recent article.

[Maru Kitteh]

1. Is he a person? People have a right to sexual expression if it doesn't harm anyone else.

[LuvNewcastle]

2. How intelligent does one need to be

in order to have sex?

[Canuckistanian]

3. Sex is very complicated

Is the partner of this person aware of his intellectual state? Does she TRULY consent with knowledge of all the consequences?

No, you don't have to have high intellectual skills to HAVE sex. But you do need a minimum amount to appreciate the possible RESULTS of sex (pregnancy, STD's etc.)

[LuvNewcastle]

15. I'm not well-versed about IQ numbers and

what they mean, but I'm guessing that at some point lower on the scale, the ability to understand consequences is no longer there and all that's left is the will to do what one wants. I believe such people to be able to consent in the most basic way, but think it's virtually impossible to give complete adult consent.

[RichGirl]

4. Well...Sarah Palin has consented at least five times...that we know of.

[uppityperson]

5. Do you mean legally or just "ok" consent?

[Odin2005]

6. Yes.

[Zywiec]

9. What do you thnk is the average IQ of the typical 14 year old girl? n/t

[Odin2005]

10. No clue.

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. A 14 year old is a child. That's the important distinction.

[Zywiec]

13. So age is all that matters?

[Warren DeMontague]

21. So stupid people can't have sex?

As much as I fear the movie "Idiocracy" may be prophetic, I can't get behind that one.

[joshcryer]

12. IQ is an average, and is age based. An average 14 y/o has an IQ around 100.

Just FYI.

[NotThisTime]

40. That's a ridiculous notion, my sons IQ at 11 was much higher than you are suggesting age and IQ have

nothing to do with one another... If someone has an IQ of 134 at a proper testing age of a child usually around age 11, they will always have the same IQ. Your IQ does not grow with age.

[Maru Kitteh]

42. Yes it can, or it may diminish, and you should read up on how the system works

since you seem to have a great investment in it.

[Codeine]

33. The same as the average IQ of a 40 year old man.

Average.

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Can they answer the question?

Why not ask them?

[Zywiec]

14. Can a 14 year old girl answer? n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

20. It's called a "consenting adult" for a reason.

When we start down the (apparently tempting, for many humans) road of making all sorts of arbitrary edicts about what other adults can do with their own bodies, we get into trouble. Do you support the drug war, too?

[Zywiec]

24. So as long as someone is at least 18

whether they have an IQ of a child or not, they can consent?

BTW. I hate the war on drugs, and the DEA as a whole.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. I think that determing someone "has the IQ of a child" is arbitrary.

Certainly not concrete enough for the drastic step of taking someone's civil liberties away in terms of being able to have sex.

You really think "protecting" someone who expresses the desire to have sex- from themselves- is worth handing over that kind of power?

I see how batshit crazy some people here get at the idea of having to show an ID at the airport or being remotely scanned by a TSA agent... yet we can't wait to set up some kind of governmental authority to determine who is "smart" enough to decide to have a sex life? :shrug:

[lumberjack_jeff]

8. Yes. n/t

[Zywiec]

16. Then I guess she can consent to sex

even though the law says it's illegal.

[underseasurveyor]

17. what is the age equivalent

Of a 48 IQ?

[Liquorice]

18. It's about 8 years old. nt

[Zywiec]

19. Thanks. n/t

[underseasurveyor]

27. I guess that would answer the bigger question for me.

No, an eight year old is not capable of consenting for sex.

[Zywiec]

28. and also an 18 year old with the same IQ as well n/t

[underseasurveyor]

30. My point

Yes.

[flvegan]

22. No idea.

Gave up on the whole internet Fristing thing a long time ago. My education doesn't otherwise train me to answer in any other way.

[Forkboy]

23. How do you think I got here?

:hide:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

26. we have a club med for severely disabled adults up the road and they allow them to have sex

[Maru Kitteh]

29. You mean they don't infringe upon their rights as human beings. n/t

[ElsewheresDaughter]

37. that's exactly what I meant to say

[Maru Kitteh]

43. :-)

[readmoreoften]

31. What is my cat's IQ?

Can he have sex if he's not fixed?

[Codeine]

32. They're an adult.

Low intelligence or not they're adults with adult needs. You're essentially saying "Hey dude; you're kind of an idiot, so you don't get to fuck. No, no arguments now -- you're not bright enough to get to use that thing the way you'd like to."

Utterly dehumanizing.

[Liquorice]

35. So should an adult man with a 48 IQ be put in prison if he molests a child? How can someone

who can't be held accountable for his actions in any other regard be capable of consensual sex? On the other thread on this same subject, I wrote about a man with a 45 IQ who molested little boys in his neighborhood. He was not held responsible by the courts because he clearly didn't understand right and wrong. That man had NO BUSINESS in any sexual relationship with anyone. He simply was not capable of an adult sexual relationship because of his profound disability. A mentally disabled adult is not just someone with a low IQ; there are usually many other issues involved.

[Warren DeMontague]

36. "should an adult man with a 48 IQ be put in prison if he molests a child?"

In a word? Yes.

[OnyxCollie]

34. Stop making excuses for Boehner's affairs. nt

[Nikia]

38. I do wonder about normal IQ adults having sex with them

In the people that I know, it seems to be about having someone who is easy to control. I suppose that's the case for some couples without big IQ differences too. I'm not positive if the majority of couples with a normal IQ person and very low IQ person are exploitive or not, but I tend to think that they are.

[Bjorn Against]

39. Tough issue, but the answer has to be yes

If we were to say no then we would essentially be saying that anyone with a low IQ can not have sex without being raped. A person with a low IQ still may have sexual desires, I don't think it is right to say that they are incapable of expressing those desires.

That being said people with an IQ of 48 are very vulnerable to being taken advantage of so there are times the line between what is consensual and what is not is not as clear as we would like it to be, that is what makes it a tough issue.

[pipi_k]

41. My own personal opinion? I don't know....but...

according to the agency I worked for some years back, with developmentally disabled adults (or, as they were called back then, the "MR population"), the answer was YES.