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278: WASTEFUL EMISSION
OF SEMEN IN ORDER
TO ESTABLISH
INNOCENCE
AN D AVOID LIFE
IMPRISONMENT

ɳ Question

In the course of my contact with families who have retarded children,
a 37 year old mentally retarded man with Down syndrome told me
about a homosexual relationship that he initiated with a boy from the
neighborhood. This fellow is an only child to his mother, an elderly
widow who suffers from a heart condition. She is a Holocaust survivor
without any other children and her entire life revolves around him.
The social worker at the workshop where he works told me that he
masturbates constantly – in her opinion from the lack of any outlet.
He works in a sheltered environment [that caters to the physically
and mentally disabled]. They are threatening to dismiss him from the
institution because his aforementioned behavior greatly disturbs all
the workers in his proximity. I’m afraid to imagine the situation he
would be in without his current framework – wandering the streets
and being even more preoccupied with the above.

I must point out that his actions threaten the emotional wellbeing
of the boys with whom he comes into contact. From a legal stand-
point I may not remain silent and must file a report about him to
the diagnostic committee which acts in the same manner as a court,
considering a situation and proposing ways to tackle the problem.

312 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein