Article March 14, 1988 Issue

POSITIVE PRESS

The New York Times

From The New York Times, June 11, 1986

"New York Court Says Mentally III Have Right to Refuse Medication"

"Patients involuntarily committed to state psychiatric hospitals cannot be forced to take antipsychotic drugs without a court order, New York's highest court ruled unanimously today.

"Only after a judge has found a patient incompetent to make treatment decisions, or if a patient presents a danger to himself or others, can doctors or hospital officials forcibly administer such medication, the court ruled. The state's hospitals have functioned on the assumption that a person sent to an institution by the court is not competent to make decisions about treatment."

Copyright © 1986 by The New York Times Company. Reprinted by permission.

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