The legal rights of people in institutions.

Abstract

SummaryThe struggle to provide legal rights for people in institutions for the mentally retarded is discussed, with particular relevance to recent activities in the United States. The major content areas include the right to treatment, the right to be free from involuntary servitude, and commitment laws. It is concluded that changes in the legal system, regardless of their positive worth, are only one phase in humanizing the lives of people who are labelled mentally retarded. To change effectively the lives of others, first we much change our own lives.