The Alabama "right to treatment" case: an opportunity not to be missed.

Recent pessimistic criticism of right to treatment decisions is unwarranted. The developing law contains a great deal of flexibility, and this can be creatively utilized to secure resources for community-based services. Courts' emphasis on the physical framework of care is an intentional effort to avoid interfering with program decisions and thus represents a reaffirmation of confidence that professionals can, if provided adequate resources, be relied on to make program decisions. Time should not be spent decrying the effect of an undesirable development of right to treatment law, but rather in formulating and stimulating development of the law in a manner consistent with current trends in the delivery of services.