# Consent to sex while unconscious **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 28, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576 "2011-05-28T16:30:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/61 "2011-05-29T00:16:04Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Because it doesn’t meet any legal definition of assault. > > Where is it shown that she gave consent to be ass-fucked with a dildo whilke unconscious? I’m not talking about the specifics of this case, I’m talking about the principle of being able to consent to something that happens later, when you’re unconscious. I wasn’t taking issue with you in particular, but on the previous page, you did appear to be saying that this wasn’t possible. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/62 "2011-05-29T01:01:48Z")
An equal, if not bigger issue for me, actually, is the apparent legality of being able to choke someone into unconsciousness, even with consent. That is very dangerous, and not analogous to being put under anasthesia under controlled conditions by trained medical professionals. This guy was just a garden variety wife beater and sexual psychopath. If medical professionals need all kinds of licensure and and certification to do it with anasthesia, why show Joe Batterer be able to do it with his bare hands? That’s ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/63 "2011-05-29T01:23:12Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > An equal, if not bigger issue for me, actually, is the apparent legality of being able to choke someone into unconsciousness, even with consent. That is very dangerous, and not analogous to being put under anasthesia under controlled conditions by trained medical professionals. This guy was just a garden variety wife beater and sexual psychopath. If medical professionals need all kinds of licensure and and certification to do it with anasthesia, why show Joe Batterer be able to do it with his bare hands? That’s ridiculous. Because most of us believe that the government shouldn’t interfere in the sex lives of consenting adults. Obviously some people, such as Christian fundamentalists, the Ayatollahs of Iran, and other assorted prudes disagree. I suspect that in all those cases, were the people doing the objecting honest, they’re not really trying to protect others, but to control them and they’re largely motivated by jealousy, sexual frustration and seeing others having fun that, for whatever reason, they can’t enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/64 "2011-05-29T01:26:29Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > An equal, if not bigger issue for me, actually, is the apparent legality of being able to choke someone into unconsciousness, even with consent. That is very dangerous, and not analogous to being put under anasthesia under controlled conditions by trained medical professionals. This guy was just a garden variety wife beater and sexual psychopath. If medical professionals need all kinds of licensure and and certification to do it with anasthesia, why show Joe Batterer be able to do it with his bare hands? That’s ridiculous. You aren’t supposed to choke them into unconsciousness. I thought that much was obvious. The point is to restrict oxygen to the brain, which induces a sort of euphoric state. Supposedly it makes orgasm more pleasurable. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/65 "2011-05-29T01:40:13Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Because most of us believe that the government shouldn’t interfere in the sex lives of consenting adults. My objection has fuck all to do with sex. Trying to characterize it that way is disingenuous beyond belief. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/66 "2011-05-29T01:41:47Z")
> [@treis](#): > > You aren’t supposed to choke them into unconsciousness. I thought that much was obvious. The point is to restrict oxygen to the brain, which induces a sort of euphoric state. Supposedly it makes orgasm more pleasurable. In this case, he choked her into unconsciousness…not that any kind of asphyxiation isn’t incredibly stupid and dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/67 "2011-05-29T01:53:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > My objection has fuck all to do with sex. Trying to characterize it that way is disingenuous beyond belief. Dude, of course it does. You want the government involved in a consensual sexual encounter between two consenting adults. Some women and men enjoy rough sex. Some men and some women enjoy being tied up and choked. It’s not my thing, but then neither is having a penis shoved in one of my bodily orifices. However, we’d all agree that it would be wrong for me to punish those who enjoy receiving oral or anal sex. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/68 "2011-05-29T02:03:43Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Dude, of course it does. No it doesn’t. Choking someone into uncosciousness is not a sexual act. > [@](#): > > You want the government involved in a consensual sexual encounter between two consenting adults. No, I want it to be illegal to choke somebody into unconsciousness, not for any reasons of sexual morality (I couldn’t give a shit less), but because it has a high possibility of _killing_ that person. It is disingenuous as shit to try to pretend it has a fucking thing to do with sex. That dog will not fucking hunt. Try something else. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/69 "2011-05-29T02:08:29Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No it doesn’t. Choking someone into uncosciousness is not a sexual act. The point is that it was a consensual, private act, and no-one’s business but the couple involved. You don’t get to dictate what other people enjoy, and what they get up to privately. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/70 "2011-05-29T02:11:18Z")
When it has a great potential to cause death, it has to be the government’s business. Pleading “consent” is fucking moronic. Do you have the right to OD somebody if they give consent? Kill them? Cut off their arms. Anyone who thinks choking a woman unconscious is “sex” is somebody I don’t want anywhere near me. Anyone who _wants_ to be choked unconscious is mentally ill and their consent is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/71 "2011-05-29T02:12:08Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No, I want it to be illegal to choke somebody into unconsciousness. It is. Unless the chokee consents, much like most any other form of simple assault. Erotic asphyxiation might be dangerous and stupid, but we also permit people to engage in boxing, luge, and knitting. Long established legal precedent is fine with all this, so unless the Honourable Member for Niagara Falls, aka the Minister of Justice, is in the habit of consulting you on new legislation we should expect you won’t get your wish here. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/72 "2011-05-29T02:18:48Z")
When what a person is “consenting” to is a life threatening physical assult, then the government needs to kick the door down. It has fuck all to do with sex. There’s a doctor on trial right now for accidentally killing a “consenting” pop star with anasthesia. Would he be free and clear if he’d done it with his bare hands? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/73 "2011-05-29T02:19:28Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > When it has a great potential to cause death, it has to be the government’s business. Pleading “consent” is fucking moronic. Do you have the right to OD somebody if they give consent? Kill them? Cut off their arms. > > Anyone who thinks choking a woman unconscious is “sex” is somebody I don’t want anywhere near me. Anyone who _wants_ to be choked unconscious is mentally ill and their consent is meaningless. No, if it’s consensual, it does NOT have to be government business. And yes, I should have the right to OD someone if they genuinely want it. It’s their body, it’s up to them what they do to it, or have done to it. Drop this “mentally ill” bullshit too, you should know better than to think that BDSM is wrong in any way, or a symptom of anything. If she’s getting sexual pleasure from it, it’s sex. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/74 "2011-05-29T02:25:46Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > No, if it’s consensual, it does NOT have to be government business. Not when it has a potential to kill people. > [@](#): > > And yes, I should have the right to OD someone if they genuinely want it. It’s their body, it’s up to them what they do to it, or have done to it. How about to cut their arms off or kill them? > [@](#): > > Drop this “mentally ill” bullshit too, you should know better than to think that BDSM is wrong in any way, or a symptom of anything. I didn’t say anything about BDSM. I said people who _want to be choked unconscious_ are mentally ill. Not people that are into BDSM. > [@](#): > > If she’s getting sexual pleasure from it, it’s sex. Unconscious people can’t experience sexual pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/75 "2011-05-29T02:32:34Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No it doesn’t. Choking someone into uncosciousness is not a sexual act. Okay, sure, if you like…so why do you keep bringing it up in a thread about and titled “Consent to sex while unconscious”? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/76 "2011-05-29T02:36:25Z")
**Dio** , do you actually read the posts you reply to? Or for that matter the OP of this thread? There is no issue with the choking. It’s not illegal, it shouldn’t be illegal, and it’s not what this guy has been done for. You are wrong about pretty much everything in your post. My body is _mine_, and if I want to cut my arm off, or kill myself, I have the perfect right to do so. I should also have the right to allow someone else to do it, with no interference. I should _also_ have protection from anyone doing these things against my will. But there’s really no point in talking to you about this, as the constant comments about mental illness show. They are insulting to people who suffer from mental illness, and also to people who enjoy BDSM. Fortunately, there’s a pit thread about this subject now. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/77 "2011-05-29T02:38:33Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Okay, sure, if you like…so why do you keep bringing it up in a thread about and titled “Consent to sex while unconscious”? I didn’t write the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/78 "2011-05-29T02:40:21Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > **Dio** , do you actually read the posts you reply to? Or for that matter the OP of this thread? There is no issue with the choking. It’s not illegal, it shouldn’t be illegal, and it’s not what this guy has been done for. I know. I’m saying it SHOULD be illegal, and it bothers me that it isn’t. > [@](#): > > You are wrong about pretty much everything in your post. My body is _mine_, and if I want to cut my arm off, or kill myself, I have the perfect right to do so. I should also have the right to allow someone else to do it, with no interference. At least you’re consistent. I couldn’t disagree more, but you’re consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/79 "2011-05-29T02:40:51Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > When what a person is “consenting” to is a life threatening physical assult, then the government needs to kick the door down. It has fuck all to do with sex. So all contact sports should be illegal. Gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576/80 "2011-05-29T02:49:19Z")
Yes, choking somebody into unconsciousness is just like hockey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consent-to-sex-while-unconscious/583576.md?page=5)