involuntary treatment involuntary treatment involuntary treatment refers to medical treatment undertaken without the consent of the person being treated. involuntary treatment is permitted by law in some countries when overseen by the judiciary through court orders; other countries defer directly to the medical opinions of doctors. "right to refuse medical treatment" redirects here. you may be looking for right to die. part of series oninvoluntary treatment restraint physical restraint chemical restraint involuntary commitment involuntary commitment outpatient commitment court order regulated by medical ethics (informed consent) mental health law mental health tribunal capacity human rights alternatives voluntary commitment informal coercion treatment intramuscular injection (antipsychotic, benzodiazepine, ketamine) force-feeding covert medication some countries have general legislation allowing for any treatment deemed necessary if an individual is unable to consent to a treatment due to lack of capacity, other legislation may specifically deal with involuntary psychiatric treatment of individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder. psychiatric treatment normally happens in a psychiatric hospital after some form of involuntary commitment, though individuals may be compelled to undergo treatment outside of hospitals via outpatient commitment. the diagnosis of mental disorders can be carried out by some form clinical practitioner, or in some cases law enforcement or others, to be a danger to themselves or to others is permitted in some jurisdictions, while other jurisdictions have more recently allowed for forced treatment for persons deemed to be "gravely disabled" or asserted to be at risk of psychological deterioration. a patient may be detained because they are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder or infectious disease. history man in restraint chair in an english asylum in 1869in the early 20th century, many countries passed laws allowing the compulsory sterilization of some women. in the usa more than half the states passed laws allowing the forced sterilization of people with certain illnesses or criminals as well as sterilization based on race. forcible sterilization took place in the united states until at least 1981, more than 64 thousand people were forcibly sterilized. denmark sterilized 60 thousand people between 1935 and 1976. during nazi rule in germany as part of their eugenics program about 600 thousand people were compulsorily sterilized. involuntary euthanasia was carried out in nazi germany for those who had certain psychiatric disorders or learning disabilities as part of the aktion t4 program. this program was run by karl brandt, a medical doctor, and philipp bouhler.: 185 victims were murdered together in gas chambers and this program was a prototype for the extermination camps such as auschwitz where the holocaust took place. as part of action 14f13, physicians involved in the euthanasia program visited concentration camps where they looked at documentation provided by ss camp doctors and approved the murder of camp inmates on the grounds of race, behavior and ability to work using the euthanasia program's facilities.: 192 in the uk the 1950s, homosexual men were given the choice between hormone therapy with female sex hormones or prison including, notably, alan turing. until 2004, every european state required that transgender people must be sterilized or provably infertile to have their preferred gender formally recognised.: 7 this practice continued in sweden until 2012 and denmark until 2014 japan currently requires transgender people to be sterilized and have their ovaries removed to be recognised as a different gender. ethics and the law