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The Right To Privacy And America's Aging Population, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

As the number of elderly grows significantly, especially those with cognitive impairments, how do we as a society deal with their need for privacy and intimate association? Two critical issues have so far gone unaddressed in the legal literature: the lack of personal freedom suffered by those who move into large assisted living facilities and nursing homes, versus the lack of social support for those who remain in their own homes. While seniors in nursing homes are lectured and ridiculed, even transferred involuntarily, for having a sexual relationship, elderly living alone are being preyed upon by unscrupulous caregivers who know …