Shabbat 153B

לא תצא לחולין, מפני שהוא ספק.

does not vacate its sanctified status and assume non-sacred status because his status with regard to halakhic intelligence is uncertain. According to R' Eliezer, a deaf-mute apparently has a degree of halakhic intelligence, and therefore has a greater obligation in mitzvot than a minor.

כי תיבעי לך אליבא דרבנן, דתנן: חמשה לא יתרומו, ואם תרמו אין תרומתן תרומה, אלו הן: חרש שוטה וקטן, והתורם את שאינו שלו, וגוי שתרם את של ישראל אפילו ברשותו אין תרומתו תרומה.

When you raise this dilemma, the issue is in accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis, as we learned in a Mishnah: There are 5 categories of people who may not separate teruma ab initio, and if they separated teruma, their teruma is not considered teruma. They are: A deaf-mute, an imbecile, and a minor, and one who separates teruma from produce that is not his; and a non-Jew who separated teruma from the produce of a Jew, even with his permission, his teruma is not considered teruma because a non-Jew cannot be appointed as an agent to separate teruma, and all the more so he cannot separate teruma on his own. The deaf-mute and the minor have the same legal status according to the Rabbis; therefore, a dilemma arises as to which of them should receive the pouch on Shabbat.

מאי? לחרש יהיב ליה, דקטן אתי לכלל דעת, או דילמא לקטן יהיב ליה, דחרש אתי לאחלופי בגדול פיקח. איכא דאמרי לחרש יהיב ליה, איכא דאמרי לקטן יהיב ליה.

What should one do? Should he give it to the deaf-mute because the minor will eventually reach the stage of halakhic intelligence, when he will be obligated to observe the mitzvot, and it is preferable that he not become accustomed to desecrating Shabbat? Or perhaps he should give it to the minor, because if he is allowed to give it to the deaf-mute, onlookers will mistake him for an adult with halakhic intelligence and conclude that it is permitted to give his pouch to an adult? In that case it would be preferable to give the pouch to a minor, as it is clear that he is not obligated in mitzvot. Regarding this halakha, some say that he gives it to the deaf-mute and some say that he gives it to the minor, and no definitive conclusion was reached.