Dr. Loyd W. Rowland said Thursday that Louisiana's commitment laws for the mentally ill are among the best in the United States.
The executive director of the Louisiana Association for Mental Health commented following a talk made Wednesday by W. Cleon Skousen at the Greater New Or-| leans school of anti-communism.. Skousen, former FBI agent, charged that present mental health laws offer a threat to civil rights in America today.
Dr. Rowland said that while members of the anti-communism school were in session Wednesday night, a committee of New Orleans attorneys and psychiatrists "were struggling with the problem of how to find a better disposition of emergency cases of mentally ill people in Orleans parish than to throw them into jail."
He said the most important consideration of the committee was to take care of the individual's need for medical treatment and be assured that he would not lose a single one of his civil rights.
"It is so important to keep in mind that mentally ill people are after all sick people, and need medical care, and the sooner they get it the better," said Dr. Rowland. "Few persons go to mental hospitals voluntarily, though some do. As our hospitals improve, more will go voluntarily. It will j never be possible to get them all ! to go voluntarily. Some will have 1 to be forced to go, hence we shall always have commitment laws." Dr. Rowland said that persons in the field of mental health look forward to the time when there will be so much attention given
to patients before they have to go to a mental hospital, that the problem of commitment will shrink almost to zero.
COMMITMENT FORMS Dr. Rowland traced the four forms of commitment in Louisiana—voluntary admission, coroner's commitment, judicial com-
mitment and emergency commitment.
He said that coroner's commitment "would seem to satisfy Mr. Skousen's requirements, as would the next one, the judicial commitment."
"We are very well pleased with our commitment laws in Louisiana," said Dr. Rowland. "They are among the best in the nation. The important consideration is that the medical needs of the person are being taken care of and his civil rights not violated. "It is not an easy problem and we won't solve it by making general charges. Helpful ideas are always welcome when it comes to handling of the mentally ill person. Many good minds have given!
attention to the problem. No perfect solution has been found be-1 cause commitment requires an individual to have medical treat-'
ment, even when his judgment fi impaired to the point where ht doesn't know or admit he needs
