Health And Law's Blog
Blog owner info
Community Health And Law
Original post
Should mentally ill patients have the right to refuse treatment?
Posted by Rick_weber
:
2008-09-04 21:41:48
In an attempt to curb abuses such as harsh physical handling, neglect and overmedication, patient advocates have been pushing for the rights of the mentally ill. The National Disability Rights Network, which supports this patient-advocacy system, say that these patients are very vulnerable and that there is a need for "an external, independent, legally based advocacy system to make sure they are being treated fairly, equitably and safely."
All this is well and good but I believe that rights are limited when it comes to safety. William Bruce killed his mother in 2006 after he was released from Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta, Maine, largely due to the intervention of these advocates. Who was protecting her and more importantly, who was protecting William Bruce from himself?
Williams' father is fighting to strengthen commitment and treatment laws however, the patient advocates have filed a suit challenging this proposal.
Comments
Interesting
Posted by
Jake:
2008-09-09 01:57:09
This is an interesting thought. I think many of us assume that people who are mentally ill should have the same rights as anyone else to refuse treatment. But, when you have patients who are suffering from illnesses such as Type 1 Bipolar disorder, there many be times when they think they do not want treatment but may pose a treat to themselves.
I think the key is to find a happy balance, but that is utopic thinking.
