After thirteen years under a conservatorship, pop-star Britney Spears has accused her conservator father of abuse. Britney says that she has been stopped from marrying her boyfriend, that she has been forcibly given the antipsychotic drug lithium, and disturbingly, that she has a contraceptive intrauterine device (IUD) which she has is unable to remove, despite wanting another baby. This short piece will reflect on the human rights issues in these allegations.
WHAT IS A CONSERVATORSHIP?
In 2008, following a deterioration in her mental health and as permitted under California State Law, Britney was committed to a UCLA medical centre. Five days after committal, Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, was awarded a conservatorship.
Conservatorships are granted by courts in situations where it is alleged that a person is unable to make their own decisions, often on the grounds of mental illness. Britney’s conservatorship is split into two elements, with one part focussed on her estate and finances and the other on her as a person, known as a personal conservatorship.
In 2019, Jamie Spears handed over the personal conservator element to Jodi Montgomery, who is a care professional. The Bessemer Trust which is a wealth management firm were to co-conserve Britney’s estate alongside Jamie Spears but have since requested that a judge allows them to withdraw on the basis that they believed the conservatorship was voluntary.
In 2021 and after 13 years under the conservatorship, Britney has spoken out against the conservatorship and sought to have it removed, stating:
"I've lied and told the whole world I'm okay and I'm happy, [...] If I said that enough, maybe I'd become happy. I'm in shock. I'm traumatized. I'm so angry it's insane. [...] I'm scared of people. I don't trust people with what I've been through, [...] It's not okay to force me to do anything I don't want to do. [...] I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don't feel like I can live a full life".
Britney’s situation has sparked wider debate about the conservatorship systems in the United States, with senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey Jr calling upon US Federal Agencies to increase their oversight of conservatorships.
HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS OF BRITNEY SPEARS’ CONSERVATORSHIP
The core human rights concerns here are with respect to the forced use of antipsychotic drugs and forced use of contraceptives, followed by family rights whereby Britney wishes to marry her boyfriend and have a baby.
The former United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Mendez, has argued that treatments of an intrusive and irreversible nature which lack in therapeutic purpose may constitute torture. This is especially the case when it comes to forced sterilisations of women with mental illnesses, which still occurs around the world today, often justified through reasoning that a person lacks the capacity to consent to intercourse. Though Britney has not been irreversibly sterilised, she is currently unable to remove the IUD herself. This still amounts to an interference with her right to have children and to exercise bodily autonomy.
Measures like this are more convenient than supporting women with mental illnesses to raise children. However, interfering with women’s autonomy in this way, particularly with those who have mental illnesses is archaic and is tantamount to eugenics, which ought to be prohibited more effectively in practice. Britney’s case is a violation of article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which assures persons with disabilities the right to retain their fertility on an equal basis with others. This extends to those with mental illnesses (psychosocial disabilities) as well as those with physical disabilities.
Britney has also claimed that she is being treated with the antipsychotic drug lithium, against her wishes. Lithium is often used to treat psychiatric conditions such as bipolar. Forced treatments with antipsychotic drugs is a last resort in many countries and is only justifiable on medical grounds. Forced treatment must be necessary and proportional. However, forced treatments are not without consequence. In 2011, Peter Bartlett, Professor of Mental Health Law, stated that “more people now die from the adverse effects of anti-psychotic medication than are killed by people as a result of their mental disorder”.
Further, the side-effects of such treatments can be degrading and cruel. They may include side-effects such as: bed-wetting, blood disorders, emotional effects including suicidal feelings and behaviour, sexual and hormonal problems, seizures, heart problems, eye problems, liver problems, sedation, and serious side-effects such as tardive dyskinesia and tardive psychosis. The potential serious side-effects of treatment with antipsychotic drugs is why it is a last resort. However, Britney has stated that she was made to take lithium after publicly announcing that she was taking a break from live performances. If this is the case, then this is a human rights concern that requires further investigation as the use of lithium here is devoid of therapeutic purpose and is being used as another coercive measure.
Finally, Britney has stated that she had wanted to have another baby which was not possible due to the IUD, and that she also wanted to marry her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, but has been prohibited from doing this by the conservatorship. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) allows men and women of full age to marry and to found a family. Article 16 also emphasises that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. The conservatorship is prohibiting Britney from marriage, which seems to have no legal basis as she has emphasised her wish to marry her boyfriend, demonstrating her intention to consent to marriage. As the US remains committed to the UDHR, the potential for abuse of this basic human right under US conservatorship systems requires greater investigation.
LOOKING FORWARD
Based on the allegations Britney has made, this conservatorship seems abusive and to undermine some basic human rights. Britney has requested to have the conservatorship removed, which will hopefully be the case, along with greater oversight of the conservatorship systems in the US more generally.
Amber is a PhD candidate in International Law at the University of Lincoln. She is also a Lecturer in Law and Politics at Lincoln College (Further Education). Amber holds an LLM in International Law from the University of Sussex and an LLB in Law from the University of Lincoln.