What is the catholic churches teaching on dignity of man and should this apply to mental patients also?
The church upholds the dignity of the person from conception to death. It makes no exception for the person’s physical or mental condition or other conditions that marginalize people from society. That being said recent changes have been made in state laws that afford protection for people who have been involuntarily committed. For example, in Florida under the Baker Act an individual cannot be held for over 72 hours after an involuntary commitment, without one of 3 things happening: 1. the person is released 2. The person is released conditionally to outpatient care 3. The person is sent to a psychiatric care facility. An involuntary [Baker Act]admission occurs after a concerned family member, spouse or other person applies for an ex parte order, and then “upon a finding by a court that (1) a person is mentally ill and, because of the mental illness, he/she has refused voluntary placement for treatment or is unable to determine whether placement is necessary; (2) he/she is incapable o
