Editor,
Despite the prevalence of drunken driving fatalities, few would argue that we should bring back Prohibition to prevent certain individuals from driving drunk.
Despite the prevalence of gun-related fatalities, many people staunchly oppose any form of gun control.
Yet many New Mexicans seem to have no qualms about a proposed law that would have deprived an entire class of citizens of the right to make their own treatment choices, in an effort to intervene with the rare individual with a mental illness who may become dangerous.
House Bill 174 and Senate Bill 335, known as Kendra's Law, had it passed, would have enabled courts to order individuals with mental illness to comply with blood or urine testing, forced medication and other forms of treatment - or face involuntary hospitalization. The law is not carefully tailored, as proponents contend, to apply to the sickest of the sick. The bill is grossly overboard and would apply to many individuals who are neither dangerous nor incompetent.
Contrary to the contentions of the bill's proponents, aggressive early intervention statutes have been enacted in only a handful of states. These leash laws seek to force treatment on individuals who could, hypothetically, become dangerous in the future. Not only do such laws unnecessarily infringe on the fundamental rights of innocent citizens who pose no danger to anyone, they are also unable to prevent certain individuals from becoming a danger.
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The bill's proponents point to the five murders in August that John Hyde is charged with to support the need for forced treatment in New Mexico. In reality, a forced treatment law would have made no difference. The problem does not appear to have been a failure to comply with treatment, but rather a lack of coordination and responsiveness among Hyde's providers.
The record shows that Hyde had been voluntarily participating in treatment for many years, and that complicating events before the killings included a medication change with problematic side effects and conflicting diagnostic information. Hyde's cell phone records show he repeatedly tried to reach his providers, making numerous calls in the days leading up the killings.
Access is the real problem, and forced treatment is not the answer. A voluntary system of accessible and adequately funded community behavioral health programs coupled with mental health directives would be far more effective. If Kendra's Law were enacted in New Mexico, the fear of forced treatment would deter many from being candid about their symptoms, and deter others from seeking help in the first place. Individuals subjected to forced treatment are likely to become even more resistant to future treatment.
It is patently unfair to enact a law that infringes upon the rights of an already misunderstood and marginalized population merely to create an illusion of safety - no matter how politically convenient this may be to certain officials.
Rosemary Bauman
Daily Lobo reader
