ABSTRACT
I have argued that in some circumstances it is justifiable to restrict the autonomy of the mentally ill; it is now necessary to consider what forms and methods of restriction of autonomy can be justified. The issues under consideration here are fundamentally those of involuntary hospitalisation and treatment. In England and Wales, the law relating to these issues is laid down in the Mental Health Act, 1983, and in Scotland, the Mental Health (Scotland) Act, 1984. (I shall only be concerned with the law relating to England and Wales.)
Mental illness is not the only illness that can result in medical intervention without the consent of the individual concerned: the 1984 Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act makes provision for the compulsory testing of carriers of certain infectious diseascs such as cholera, typhus and typhoid, and for application to be made to a magistrate to order compulsory treatment. These powers were extended to cover those suffering from AIDS by the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Regulations, 1985; but they have been used only once in respect of an AIDS sufferer. This case occurred at Monsall Hospital in Manchester, in 1985, where an AlDS sufferer who was bleeding very heavily refused treatment.
