The right to receive inpatient psychiatric hospitalization.
No matter how hard I try, it's seemingly impossible to escape the 
constant Britney coverage. Of course I expect to see Britney babble during my visits to People, but is her latest everything really CNN material? The truth is...until recently, I've been a diligent Britney defender. I can relate to being the target of hundreds of eyes when you make any sort of a public appearance. I can even understand how anyone might be overwhelmed by the level of scrutiny and judgement she seems to attract. I see stains of our society's view of women as she's bashed and I don't agree that fathers become decent by default. While it was already cracking, my allegiance completely crumbled when I read that she parked in a space designated for people with disabilities shortly before Christmas. There are some things I can't get past!
According to reports, Britney's latest behavior involved locking herself into a room with her youngest son and stating, "I can't take it anymore." Depending on the level of desperation in the context of these words, they could be interpreted as vague frustration or a suicidal thought. Emergency responders, psychologists, and other mental health professionals are required to hospitalize someone if there is evidence the person is in danger of suicidal or homicidal behavior. California calls this involuntary hospitalization a 5150, the number of the code sanctioning the incarceration. Here in Florida, the same procedure is mandated by the Baker Act.
For a split second-in my idealistic dreams, I thought that the public's obsession over Britney's hospitalization might provide some education to society about the realities of inpatient psychiatric treatment.
Not so much.
Instead, we've been flooded with even more stigma-promoting misconceptions about the hospital stays that often save people's lives. We're left to picture Britney locked in a cell in the same "shackles" she wore in the ambulance on her way to the hospital. There was a slight dead period where Brit actually saw a glimmer of the privacy most patients enjoy while the media repeated she was undergoing a "full psychological evaluation." Despite ethical codes that bar diagnosis without examination, some professionals have gone so far as to provide their own evaluation, complete with diagnosis, on their blogs and personal pages. Amidst the drama of what she was wearing to the hospital and who she left with after her abrupt discharge, one point seems to be missed. Britney Spears needed mental health treatment after it was deemed she was a danger to herself by professionals. The law removed previous barriers to her treatment, like her income, reputation, and desire for change. According to code 5150, the professionals had no choice but to provide Britney the care she needed.
What if you, or I, or another person with a disability demonstrated the same behavior-minus the helicopters, screaming paparazzi, and minute-by-minute coverage? Would we also be hospitalized for our own safety?
Despite the mandates, despite the laws....when it comes to people with disabilities, the answer is (unfortunately again)- It depends.
I'm appalled at the lack of care Orbit received as she describes in her most recent blog post. The decision that she needed inpatient care wasn't rendered from a vague statement but from a collaborative discussion with her longtime therapist. Even after her physician tried to put her physical disability into perspective, she was denied treatment from not one, but five, hospitals! With laws that promise protection for ALL people, regardless of status, how is this possible?
In Orbit's post, she reports spending long hours in a hospital waiting 
room. The logistical nightmare of even being informed of the five denials of treatment would have been enormously stressful for someone who was previously having a great day-much less someone who was on the verge of self-harm at the onset of the process. Her treatment was more than a violation of rights, but speaks to the value of life our system seems to uphold for people with disabilities-especially when compared to our able-bodied pop star counterparts.
Orbit was deemed too "medically complicated" to receive the care she deserved. Even though her physical disability, cerebral palsy, was entirely stable and not in need of treatment, professionals who had never even seen the patient couldn't see past this diagnosis to treat her. Would a patient who's rushed to the ER for chest pain but shuttled to orthopedics if they happen to have a cast on their right arm? Orbit sought mental health treatment but was denied because she has a physical disability.
I'm thankful that Orbit has rebounded from these unfortunate circumstances to share her empowering story about her beginning stages of seeking judgement. Her story, more so than Britney's, needs to be heard. How many others with disabilities aren't able to protect their own safety when our system fails to help them?
