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Right to Refuse Treatment Issues

Question #1

A person has the right to refuse treatment and a consent from that person (to treat them) is mandatory under the law. It seems to me that if a person refuses to get treatment that could prevent them from being forcebly placed in a more restrictive setting this is a legal conflict. If I have a mental illness that causes me to be violent, I am able to be treated in some way for this, and I refuse (because that is my right), and the inevitable is that I will most likely be a menace to society, arrested, and incarcerated ; I will then, by court order, be forced to get treatment or take medication to keep me under control. This seems like the long, and costly way around making me do what I should be doing by accepting treatment in the first place. On the other hand, I can refuse treatment and take the chance that I will not be a menace to society, so my right to refuse treatment is respected. It can be a vicious circle of legalities with ethical and moral implications....

Posted by: Sean Wilson

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