TY - JOUR T1 - Nothing to be ashamed of: sex robots for older adults with disabilities JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 26 LP - 32 DO - 10.1136/medethics-2020-106645 VL - 47 IS - 1 AU - Nancy S Jecker Y1 - 2021/01/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/47/1/26.abstract N2 - This paper spotlights ways in which sexual capacities relate to central human capabilities, such as the ability to generate a personally meaningful story of one’s life; be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy; experience bodily integrity; affiliate and bond with others; feel and express a range of human emotions; and choose a plan of life. It sets forth a dignity-based argument for affording older people access to sex robots as part of reasonable efforts to support their central human capabilities at a floor level. The argument develops stepwise: (1) first, I dispel ageism and negative stereotypes about later-life sexuality, showing their deep historical roots in medicine and science; (2) second, I set forth a positive argument, grounded in capability accounts of justice, for deploying sex robots for older people with disabilities; (3) finally, after responding to objections, I conclude that sex robots are a reasonable way to support later-life sexuality for persons with disabilities. While often depicted as a product for younger, able-bodied people, this paper is a bid for reimagining sex robots as a product for older, disabled people. ER -