The question of consent has become a hot-button issue over the last few years as colleges and universities struggle with problems of sexual assault on campus.
Now the issue has come up in a completely different context: The elder population. The debate has turned its focus to whether or not patients with Alzheimer's disease or dementia are capable of consenting to sexual activity.
This week, a former Iowa state lawmaker was found not guilty of sexual abusing his wife who had Alzheimer's disease. Henry Rayhons, a farmer and former Republican legislator, insisted that sexual contact with his wife was completely consensual. He argued that his wife was often the one to instigate the activity.
However, nursing home staff members said his wife, Donna Rayhons, was cognitively unable to give consent.
There are currently more than 5.3 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and as the population continues to age, this complicated question of consent is one that is likely to come up more often.
Dr. Tia Powell is director of the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Bioethics in New York City. She tells Takeaway Host John Hockenberry that sexual activity is very common among the elderly—even those with Alzheimer's—and intervention should only occur if abuse is taking place.