Legal Experts Question Legality, Ethics of Sex Bans in Nursing Homes

August 4, 2009

In the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, the federal government said that residents have the right “to live in an environment that enhances personal dignity, maintains independence, and encourages self-determination.” Many legal experts are now questioning whether this regulation is being upheld by nursing home administrators because of the major lack of privacy and blatant bans of sexual behavior in most nursing homes.

Though many nursing homes claim that their residents are given freedom and privacy, many advocates for the elderly have found otherwise. They feel that in a country where conjugal visits are permitted to prison inmates- the elderly should be allowed to maintain sexual relationships.

In many institutions, sexual behaviors have been labeled “inappropriate.” Some believe that this infringes upon not only the Nursing Home Reform Act, but also the United States Constitution, itself.