14
Dispatch → Bulletin → Campaign
GA Recommendation: Vote AGAINST Psychiatric Care Act
OWL recommends voting $AGAINST$ the at-vote resolution, Psychiatric Care Act. The Delegate has been asked to cast their vote accordingly.
Please find below the Office's Analysis for an examination of the resolution and the reasons for the final recommendation.
This resolution at-vote is focused on protecting the civil liberties of individuals who struggle with mental illness and require psychiatric care. It places particular emphasis on individuals who are confined in mental health facilities, and provides them with a comprehensive list of rights, as detailed in Clause 7.
While OWL applauds the resolution at-vote's commitment to the rights of individuals with mental illness, it is deeply concerned about Clause 5, which spells out that individuals may refuse treatment unless they themselves have mental illness and a "competent authority" certifies that they pose "a direct threat to themselves or others as a result of the mental illness". In OWL's view, Clause 5 opens up too much room for interpretation, seeing as "competent authorities" could for instance deem an individual's drug use as a direct threat to themselves, allowing such authorities to detain individuals on the grounds of mental illness. This, in OWL's view, is highly discordant with the spirit of the rest of the legislation.
As a result, OWL recommends a vote AGAINST the resolution at-vote, "Psychiatric Care Act".
Analysis by Differences-In-Differences