Freedom Fading: On Dementia, Best Interests, and Public Safety

Having Alzheimer's Disease does not make a person evil, but it does sometimes cause behavior that poses a danger to the person with dementia or to others. On what grounds can we justify overriding and restricting the liberty of a person with dementia? How far should such restrictions go? Who should authorize them and who should carry them out, and under what theory?

Given that all behavior carries some degree of risk, what level of risk is acceptable? What should society tolerate as a part of the back- ground conditions within which most people conduct their lives? To what level of risk should individuals be allowed to expose them- selves voluntarily? Should risks associated with dementia be treated with special caution and restriction, and if so, should that be called discrimination or special caring?

Should persons with medically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease ever be excluded from activities categorically (simply by virtue of their diagnosis) or only situationally (in light of their particular level of functioning and the specific circumstances)?