State Power over Involuntary Commitment Involuntary commitment of ill persons by the government poses a conflict between a person’s civil rights of freedom of choice and the government’s interest in security. Involuntary treatment of these persons also presents the danger of risking the life of the patient. Statistics show that out of the one million patients who are civilly committed, about a third of these, who number to 300,000, are involuntary cases. These patients have neither the control over choices of their medication nor the duration of their treatment before discharge (Comer, 2014). The parent or guardian to the patient is not sought for consent in any stages of the civil commitment and treatment and the patients are in full control by the government with decisions made through the courts. Involuntary commitment is rendered to patients who the government perceives a threat to themselves and to the community.
