Refusing Care - Forced Treatment and the Rights of the Mentally Ill, by Elyn Saks
16th October 2023
| Refusing Care - Forced Treatment and the Rights of the Mentally Ill is about the rights of the mentally ill and was written by a lawyer and Associate Dean Elyn Saks, who herself suffers with schizophrenia. Saks feels that the psychiatric system in the United States vacillates between two extremes, completely ignoring those with mental health disorders, and over-treating them. She also notes that in most cases, patients should have the right to refuse medical care, in the form of drug therapy or other measures, if they choose to do so. Forcing medication or other treatment on the mentally ill is usually not a good solution, in Saks' argument. Saks has seen both sides of the issue herself, as she was extremely reluctant to take medication for her own condition, and all began taking it of her own volition in recent years. She feels, though, that most everyone, with the exception of very extreme cases, should be allowed to choose whether or not they receive psychiatric treatment. |