Mental Health Bill
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Society generally protects those incapable of making rational decisions--victims of Alzheimer’s or those mentally incapacitated by physical illness or injury. Assemblywoman Helen Thomson’s reform of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act would extend that same safety net to those severely disabled by brain disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Yet upon the Assembly’s overwhelming passage of AB 1800 last week, state Sen. John Burton was quoted as saying Senate passage of the bill “ain’t going to happen” (“Defeat of Mental Health Bill Vowed,” June 2). Why would he say this?
Surgeon General David Satcher has clearly stated that there is no scientific justification for distinguishing between mental illness and other physical illnesses such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Why, then, would our state want to follow Burton’s lead and continue to discriminate against people with severe mental illnesses?
CARLA JACOBS
Board Member, Treatment
Advocacy Center, Long Beach
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