“It happens regularly,’’ said Robert Fleischner, an attorney at the Center for Public Representation in Northampton who specializes in mental health and disability law.
Those who work in the family court system generally praise Massachusetts for its progressive attitudes toward incapacitated individuals, saying their voices typically are allowed greater force here than in other states.
Yet many worry that the recent ruling, which only came to light when it was reversed on appeal, suggests there could be broader a problem at play, and it prompted concern that the courts are not consistently honoring the rights of those declared incompetent.
“To think a ruling like this could even happen once is extremely disturbing,’’ said Rick Glassman, litigation director of the Disability Law Center of Massachusetts.
No figures are kept on the number of court-ordered abortions and sterilizations in Massachusetts, but specialists say they are likely more common than typically assumed.
The case, which gained national attention last week, also opened a window on the wrenching decisions relatives and courts are forced to make on behalf of people suffering from mental illness, and the difficulty in determining their will, or what their will would be if they were of sound mind.
“It’s relatively infrequent that there’s some clear indication of what the person would have opted for if competent,’’ said Stan Goldman, who directs mental health litigation for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defenders’ office. “It often boils down to what the judge thinks is in the person’s best interest.’’
But in this case, specialists said, the woman seemed capable of making her wishes known. She described herself to court officials as “very Catholic,’’ and said she would never have an abortion. A court-appointed specialist determined the 32-year-old, who has a son, would decide against an abortion if she were competent.
