The Involuntary PsychiatricTreatment Act of Nova Scotia

The Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment Act was passed in Nova Scotia on July 3rd 2007.

This Act raises an important question. Does someone being forced into treatment against their will impinge on their rights as Canadian citizens?

This a very tricky and complicated issue. The answer is not cut and dried. There are pros and cons for both sides of the issue.

Do people with a severe mental illness who do not know that they are ill have the right to refuse treatment? They believe that they are not ill and that they do not need to be treated with anti-psychotic medication to get well because they are not sick. According to the medical profession this belief is part of the symptomology of the mental illness itself. They are not capable of making a rational and objective decision concerning treatment because they are not mentally competent enough to understand that they are ill and understand the pros and cons of treatment. They just simply believe there is no problem that needs to be treated.

So, does giving them the right to refuse treatment benefit their health and well being? No. In fact they will stay ill and suffer beyond what people that have no mental illness could imagine. They will suffer psychologically, emotionally, mentally, and even sometimes physically due to hallucinations. Many people that don't receive treatment oftentimes end up on the street with no place to live. Though this is rare some people might end up in jail due to a violent crime they committed due to paranoid symptoms. My personal opinion is that these people who refuse treatment due to the fact that they do not believe they are ill do not have the right to suffer, live on the street, or end up in jail for many years due to a violent crime that they are not mentally responsible for. Ask yourself this question. Is it impinging on their rights to prevent them from much pain and suffering for the rest of their lives?

If I were to get ill again and didn't have insight into my condition I would not want to have the right to refuse treatment and suffer much pain and suffering for the rest of my life. I have already suffered to much pain, torture, and torment due to my own mental illness. I never refused treatment but it took the Doctors many years to find the right medication. I would not want to go through all that sickness again. I am very glad, pleased, and full of much joy about this Act being implemented in this great Province of ours.

This Act will prevent much suffering, pain, torture, and torment in peoples lives. I believe the Government did the right thing by passing this law.