Britney Spears conservatorship case is giving politicians the wrong ideas

(NBC News) - In what's probably the most watched conservatorship case in history, the yearslong
controversy over music superstar Britney Spears' lack of control over her own life has taken center stage
as she has appeared in court to plead for her freedom in recent weeks.

What Spears described in her recent court appearances isn't the legitimate administration of a
conservatorship. She described horrific abuse, sexism and exploitation under the guise of a
conservatorship for the undue enrichment of others, not due care for her personal and financial well-being.
She even describes enduring de facto forced sterilization. As a lawyer who advocates for developmentally
disabled and mentally ill clients, I can't imagine the justification for that humiliating violation of human
rights.

The California court system describes a conservatorship as "a court case where a judge appoints a
responsible person or organization (called the 'conservator') to care for another adult (called the
'conservatee') who cannot care for himself or herself or manage his or her own finances." The law limits a
conservatorship to "a person who is unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical
health, food, clothing, or shelter" or "a person who is substantially unable to manage his or her own
financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence."

While all the facts aren't public, Spears appears quite capable of identifying her needs, including mental
health care, having testified emphatically about those matters. She is certainly financially resourceful.
During the conservatorship, she has made millions for others, in addition to herself. So I must seriously
question the need for Spears to be under a conservatorship, and the evidence is compelling that she has
been victimized and should be freed of it.

But doing away with conservatorships or substantially watering them down in the cry to "free Britney"
could make matters significantly worse for many. The disabled deserve as much liberty and freedom as
adults as they can handle, as I know from raising a son with a mental health disability. But those who are
mentally disabled or ill need help and legal protection, too, because it is all too easy for many of them to
be taken advantage of for their money, their bodies, their labor or otherwise.

And the important changes to conservatorship law that are needed mostly aren't reflected in the legislation
inspired by Spears' case. Instead, the bills are unfortunate illustrations of the danger of crafting reform
based on an atypical conservatee: inadequate steps that apply to too few cases, which then distract from all
that can and should be done in more typical cases.

The pending legislation in California

purports to provide comprehensive reform,
aspiring to target those who "tak[e]
advantage of people who are vulnerable to
abuse" in conservatorships. Despite the
clamor to protect conservatees, the
legislation would fail to guarantee a single
human right, such as the right to marry,
have children, exercise religious beliefs and
choose one's friends. And the deficiency
isn't limited to California, which is one of more than 40 states that lack comprehensive bills of rights for
people placed under conservatorships.

It's also a problem when family members are appointed to handle the affairs of conservatees, which we've
witnessed up close in Spears' case. In my own work as a lawyer representing minor children and
dependent adults in injury claims arising from sexual abuse, the moneys I recover for them for their
ongoing mental health care, as well as for other damages, must be preserved and protected for them and
their needs.

I believe that the courts will most likely soon end Spears' conservatorship, with her family relegated back
to mere family member status, and that pending legislation will pass into law and reduce the risk of
another headline case like hers. As that happens, our nation's spotlight on the right of the mentally ill and
disabled to control their lives with as much dignity as possible will fade.