Valid consent requires the satisfaction of the following three conditions. Permissible sexual activity is widely taken to require the valid consent of each of the participants of the sexual act. While conjoined twins are typically classified by the point of fusion, for our purposes, they may be divided into two broad categories: homogenitally conjoined twins, who shared a single set of genitalia, and heterogenitally conjoined twins, with two distinct sets of genitalia. Identical clones that share the same set of genes, as well as some body parts. Highly counterintuitive, it is dificult to articulate the relevant moral difference between these cases.Ĭonjoined twinning occurs when a single embryo formed by a sperm and egg splits early in the development, but not completely. This observation generalises to prohibitions on a wide range of everyday activities, such as masturbation, blood donations, and taking drugs to cure one’s headache. I will argue that sex with conjoined twins is impermissible if one of them does not consent. This paper explores the implications of this requirement for the conditions under whichĬonjoined twins may have sex. This requirement explains why it is impermissible to have sex with non-human animals, children, and agents with severe cognitive impairments.
It is widely accepted that valid consent is necessary for the permissibility of sexual acts. Written by University of Oxford student James Kirkpatrick This essay was the runner up in the Oxford Uehiro Prize in Practical Ethics Graduate Category