The Woman Who Died in a Box

Abstract

Hopper and Kittrie comment separately on the case of a homeless woman who froze to death on a city street. They discuss the extent to which society is obligated to intervene in protecting persons in need of care who refuse to accept intervention, balancing the demands of personal autonomy against communal responsibility. Both commentators agree that New York City's Protective Services Law, since streamlined, proved ineffective in its initial application. After almost two weeks of rejected offers of help, Rebecca Smith was declared an "endangered adult," but the intervention came too late to prevent her death. (KIE abstract)