Integrateor Else

Integrate?or Else

In August of 1999, Gov. Pataki signed Kendra's Law, named after a woman who'd been pushed in front of a subway train by a schizophrenic who'd gone off his meds. The law stated that the mentally ill could now be legally forced to take their medication, and were also subject to forced hospitalization, should it seem like a good idea.

There have been challenges to the law on constitutional grounds, but most people?those who see the screaming lunatics on the street or hear about crazed homeless men with bricks?tend to think this is a good idea. So does the State Court of Appeals, which upheld the law in a 6-0 decision two weeks ago. The latest appeal argued that the law violated due process, as it allows the mentally ill to be held for up to 72 hours without a hearing.

In certain instances, of course, there are people out there who are out of control, who pose a serious threat to the people around them, and who should be locked up or on medication. But there are other provisions in Kendra's Law that aren't usually explained in newspaper articles?elements that make the law incredibly dangerous to us "normal folk."

Along with forced medication and hospitalization for those people who are a threat, the law also provides the same thing for those who just seem like they might "deteriorate" in the near future. It provides for something called assisted outpatient treatment?a kind of parole system for the mentally ill, in which social workers keep tabs on the recently dehospitalized to make sure they stay on their medication. If they don't, it's back to the ward.

The problem, however, isn't that some patients need lifelong care and supervision?that much is true. The problem is that some of us don't.

Say, for instance, that you were briefly hospitalized for a psychiatric problem a few years ago. Nothing major, and since then your life has been smooth and easy?you have a job, you pay your rent, you're a good citizen. You don't even need to take any meds. But then one day you have a little run-in with the guy at the deli. Just a verbal argument, but loud enough that the cops are called in. If a background check reveals that you were once institutionalized, chances are now very good that you're going to be taking a little vacation again. They could even force you (legally) to go on lithium, even if you've never been on lithium before. And you could have a social worker following you around for a long time afterward to make sure you keep taking it.

This scenario not only could happen, but has. Worse, it's even happened to people who've had no prior history of mental illness.

How could something like that occur? Because the people who are making the initial decision whether or not to ship you to an institution are not doctors, not courts, but policemen. And NYPD cadets are taught that "mental health" is defined as "the ability to integrate into your community."

So sit up straight now, and keep a big smile on your face.