1 Introduction
Malka Magnesia, a second year political science student with an A average, suddenly re-pairs to the attic of her parents’ home and refuses to go to school or to work. She explains that she has been ordered by her “superiors” in another galaxy simply to sit and repent. Her distraught family pleads with her to seek medical assistance but she refuses on the grounds that her “superiors” consider her “unworthy”. The family psychiatrist advises that exposure to some of the modern drugs has been known to reduce such schizophrenic symptoms within a period of weeks.
To what extent, if at all, should the law permit the involuntary hospitalization and drug treatment of Malka Magnesia? To what extent, if at all, would it make any difference if she suddenly went into the streets and started giving to total strangers, large sums of money from her inheritance, because, again, it was ordered by her “superiors”? And, to what ex-tent would it make any difference if, for the same reasons, she began to fast? To whatever extent you would permit some form of coercion, spell out the criteria and safeguards, which should apply.
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: In the next section, the three different stages of Malka Magnesia’s illness are examined regarding the question whether she should be involuntarily hospitalized and medicated. In the last section of this paper, the main find-ings are summarized.
2 Three different “stages” of Malka Magnesia’s illness
2.1 Malka secludes to the attic
The first stage of Malka’s illness, in which she secludes herself in the attic and refuses to go to neither school or work, at first glance seems rather harmless: It is mentioned that she is a political science student with an A...
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...lized indefinitely (cf. Gray/O’Reilly 2009). This would be indeed akin to being incarcerated for the rest of her life, something usually reserved for serious criminal offenders. Only her treatment would probably improve her condition insofar that she will be able to be released. All in all, this alternative seems worse than involuntary medication.
Works Cited
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Apart from the other laws in Canada’s constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is an important law that affects every Canadian’s rights and freedoms. It was created in 1981 by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to provide legal protection for the most important rights and freedoms. These rights include fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, and legal rights. Most but not all articles included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are protected in the constitution. However, if a Canadian feels that their rights are violated, they can challenge laws and unfair actions using the justice system. In my opinion, I believe the Canadian Charter of Human Rights somewhat protects Canadians’ rights and freedoms to some extent depending on the situation.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the strong foundation for the diverse country of Canada. They uphold various beliefs and values Canadians may have. Under the constitution in 1982, the CRF (Charter of Rights and Freedoms) was entrenched by then Prime Minister Trudeau. The CRF has 4 rights; Equality, legal, democratic and mobility, there is also 4 freedoms; of Conscience and Religion, of thought, belief, expression and media, of peaceful assembly, and Association. If people feel that their right and/or freedom has been violated, they can go to court by using a “Charter Challenge. ” A charter challenge is when something inequitable or unfair has been done, the citizen can pursue the court case stating that something violated their rights and/or freedoms. All the rights and freedoms help
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As time goes on, the law has put more emphasis on facility just like Bridgewater State Hospital in which many of the actions of the facility workers can face legal consequences such as facing prison time, fines, lawsuits, and etc. Society has a better understanding of why certain people act the way that they do and being more knowledgeable about psychology and mental diseases allows us to have a different approach when dealing with these topics or these individuals. In today’s era, there are many normal individuals who are willing to stand up for those who do not have a voice of their own. I believe that this change in one’s ability to stand up for another individual or group of individuals is what brought about change to the medical environment of those who are mentally
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enacted under the Pierre Trudeau government on April 17, 1982. According to Phillip Bryden, “With the entrenchment of the Charter into the Canadian Constitution, Canadians were not only given an explicit definition of their rights, but the courts were empowered to rule on the constitutionality of government legislation” (101). Prior to 1982, Canada’s central constitutional document was the British North America Act of 1867. According to Kallen, “The BNA Act (the Constitution Act, 1867) makes no explicit reference to human rights” (240). The adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms significantly transformed the operation of Canada’s political system. Presently, Canadians define their needs and complaints in human rights terms. Bryden states, “More and more, interest groups and minorities are turning to the courts, rather than the usual political processes, to make their grievances heard” (101). Since it’s inception in 1982 the Charter has become a very debatable issue. A strong support for the Charter remains, but there also has been much criticism toward the Charter. Academic critics of the Charter such as Robert Martin believe that the Charter is doing more harm than good, and is essentially antidemocratic and UN-Canadian. I believe that Parliament’s involvement in implementing the Charter is antidemocratic, although, the Charter itself represents a democratic document. Parliament’s involvement in implementing the Charter is antidemocratic because the power of the executive is enhanced at the expense of Parliament, and the power of the judiciary is enhanced at the expense of elected officials, although, the notwithstanding clause continues to provide Parliament with a check on...
The Madonna’s of Leningrad is a very well written piece of literature by Debra Deen. The author’s use of flashbacks, point of view, and vivid imagery takes you on a trip with the main character Marina as her Alzheimer’s claims her memory and she drifts between present day and The Siege of Leningrad. Deen shows a picture of what living with Alzheimer’s would be like and while Marina’s short term memory is failing she can still vividly remember details from her past. Formalist criticism can be applied to The Madonna’s of Leningrad the authors style of writing leaves some details to the readers mind while using literary elements to paint a story of a woman reliving her past slipping into Alzheimer’s.
At age 15 she had studied the topics of mathematics, literature, medicine, and physics. She wanted to excel mainly in literature and mathematics and pursue college career. But ever since 1863, Russian universities had been closed to women. If you were an unmarried Russian woman at this time, you were not allowed to travel freely. Sonya wanted to study mathematics abroad, but her father would not let her. His extent was to allow her to study calculus under a private tutor at the naval school of St.
" Mental Illness and the Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. May 5, 2009. Web. 04
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Being one of the greatest Russian writers of 20th century, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn had a unique talent that he used to truthfully depict the realities of life of ordinary people living in Soviet era. Unlike many other writers, instead of writing about “bright future of communism”, he chose to write about everyday hardships that common people had to endure in Soviet realm. In “Matryona’s Home”, the story focuses on life of an old peasant woman living in an impoverished collectivized village after World War 2 . In the light of Soviet’s propaganda of creating a new Soviet Nation, the reader can observe that Matryona’s personality and way of life drastically contradicted the desired archetype of New Soviet Man. Like most of the people in her village,
Doward, J. (2013), Medicine's big new battleground: does mental illness really exist? The Observer 12 May.
Quinsey, V. (2009). Are we there yet? stasis and progress in forensic psychology. Canadian Psychology, 50(1), 15-15-21.
...e concluded that she has a maladaptive way of coping and dealing with certain situations. Though she has many outlets just as writing, music, and art she does not have the time to relieve stress and tension with work, school, and her family life. Growing up in a home where her mother rarely showed affection has not only made it hard for her to show, but even harder to trust that affection truly exists.