Involuntary Commitment and the Issue of Patient's Rights.
The issue of involuntary commitment and its place in the mental health community has become increasingly controversial. Interestingly, both sides of the debate use an argument based on the violation of rights and the protection of rights in an attempt to prove a point. As with many mental health policies, the rules governing involuntary commitment are flawed. However, involuntary commitment is one of the ways that the mental health arena takes responsibility for the safety of society and the mentally ill individuals. Involuntary commitment should not be abolished because it serves a protective purpose, however the rights of the mentally ill population must always be considered and evaluated before instituting involuntary commitment. .
In an effort to avoid involuntary commitment, society must increase the amount and availability of less restrictive opportunities for treatment including the availability of medication. The National Mental Health Association discusses the accessibility issue concerning medication in their position statement on involuntary commitment. NMHA states, "consumers are sometimes forced to take less effective medications due to restrictive formularies and in order to reduce costs. In addition, the lack of parity between physical and mental healthcare coverage often results in higher co-payments for psychiatric medications"(NMHA 2003). This statement crosses over to psychiatric treatment in general. Many people are receiving inadequate treatment or short-term, intensive treatment due to cost cutting by insurance companies. Long-term therapy and treatment are very costly and available only to those who are able to pay privately. This excludes a large portion of the mentally ill population. The underprivileged and impoverished mentally ill are often excluded from treatment which leads to decompensation and often involuntary commitment.
Goldman opposed involuntary military service because she was an Anarchist who believed in free choice in all aspects of life. ... Goldman challenged both political and religious authority by pursuing both as part of her commitment to the principle of individual freedom....
Under patients' rights laws dating from the 1960's the mentally ill cannot be forced into treatment involuntarily in any state unless they are dangerous or so gravely disabled that they cannot care for themselves. ... Barbarin's son, Alex, said he had asked doctors for help with his father, but was told that state laws limited involuntary commitment to people who posed an imminent danger. ... This is why people with severe mental illness must be treated involuntarily. ... So therefore, involuntary drug treatment is not only good for the patient, but also for society. ...
Ronald Pies argues that "70 percent of patients will respond to adequate antidepressant medicationand what seemed a hard-and-fast decision to die often melts into a renewed commitment to life". ... Also, "the most troubling discovery is that 900 to 1000 patients a year die from what they call involuntary euthanasia." ... Preliminary distinction Ÿ killing Ÿ allowing to die Narrow and broad senses of euthanasia Ÿ narrow: euthanasia is mercy killing so "allowing to die" (e.g., by withdrawing or withholding a respirator), isn't euthanasia thus narrowly conceived Ÿ broad ...
Euthanasia has classified into five main categories and in Hastening Death article, the authors clearly listed out all the types, including active or passive and voluntary, involuntary or nonvoluntary. ... Whatever active or passive; voluntary, involuntary or nonvoluntary; assisted or not assisted suicide, I do not buy the term euthanasia or simply saying, I do not agree with "mercy killing". ... But in a pluralistic society, that a number of groups belong to different races or have different political or religious beliefs, with a strong commitment to freedom of religion, public policy sho...
This commitment also shows his ability endure great danger, even with the chance of failure. ... He exclaims "Ay" and the words is described as having "no translation" (Hemingway 107) and "perhaps [being] just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood" (Hemingway 107). ...
Elizabeth was not yet ready to make an outward commitment to the Quaker faith at this point in her writing. ... Elizabeth was coming to a point where her beliefs were starting to coalesce and this passage illustrates how she was attempting to subtly defy her husband while trying to remain true to herself: "When my Husband and he Used to be making their Diversion & reviling, I used to sit in Silence, but now and then an involuntary Sigh would break from me: at which he would tell my husband: "there, did not I tell you that your wife was a Quaker; & She will be a preacher." ... Here she ma...
That, in fact, they are just like anyone else as far as their devotion and commitment to the vows of marriage. ... All it requires is the commitment from two people, gender notwithstanding, who have each other's best interests at heart. ... "It was not that my sexuality was involuntary and my faith chosen and that therefore my sexuality posed a problem for my faith; nor was it that my faith was involuntary and my sexuality chosen so that my faith posed a problem for my sexuality. ...
The latter, led again by Bourassa, debated that involuntary recruiting would be the next logical step if Canada continued to become involved in affairs that did not directly concern its citizens. Bourassa's personal views were scattered throughout Quebec in his newly created newspaper, Le Devoir, in which he cautioned repeatedly against the precedent for commitment to support for British imperialism that such actions as the Naval Bill would set. ...
What criteria will be used to determine which people will be asked to leave involuntarily would be the next order of business. ... This was completely unacceptable due to various financial commitments such as mortgages, student loans and life expenses in general that most of them have incurred. ...
