Last month, San Francisco approved a law that requires mentally ill people who refuse help to be "given" (read forced into) outpatient treatment. There are, of course limitations to this. But it is an interesting step in taking away the rights of individuals. On the one hand, a family at their wit's end trying to help a family member who is ill and refuses treatment, or is homeless because s/he refuses treatment, now has further recourse than before. In most states, a person can be compelled to be hospitalized for a minimum of three days if they appear to be a threat to themselves or others. This law takes things a little further.
On the other hand, it's can be seen as another way to depersonalize and take away the rights of those who are mentally ill.
Does it erode an individual's rights? Or are we talking about people who aren't well enough to know how to take care of themselves? Outpatient treatment isn't as bad as compulsory hospitalization. Hospitalization can be an additional stressor to a person who is already at the end of their rope. Sometimes, you are required to sit and wait indefinitely in claustrophobic ER rooms for a doctor to come admit you. Sometimes, you are taken in shackles by policemen who really don't understand what they are dealing with (although more and more police forces are getting training in working with mentally ill people in crisis). Your belongings are searched, and anything that might be used to harm you or others is taken away. All this and more can happen, even if you are there voluntarily.
Outpatient treatment is a little gentler. This could be daily or periodically. It would probably involve supervised medication (they watch you swallow, and they keep your pills for you). It might involve therapy, and consultations with family members,
To me, the one 100% positive outcome of this law is the requirement that "Voluntary treatment with the same level of outpatient services must be offered throughout the process and also made available to those who do not qualify for Laura's Law." People on psychiatric medication often have fragile lives. They lose jobs, supports, housing. They lose insurance, and have to jump through hoops to get help paying for medication that in some cases is obscenely expensive (For example, the average price of a 30-day supply of 5 mg tablets of Abilify is about $850 without insurance coverage). Most of these medications only work if you take them consistently over a period of time. So if this law provides help for the people who ask for it, I say amen.
LA Times: S.F. approves Laura's Law to ensure mentally ill receive treatment
SFGate article: Laura's Law passes easily in S.F. supervisor's vote
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