Trevor Butterworth
In a recent article, Oregon’s Register Guard asks whether government can order people to participate in Alcoholics Anonymous and similar rehab programs that have religious themes without offering a non-religious choice. A recent decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would seem to say no.
The decision is, perhaps, more significant in terms of science than rights (if that is, the object is to recover from one’s addictions). And as STATS’ Maia Szalavitz tells the Register Guard, 12-Step programs generally don’t work when people are coerced into taking them.
Posted by Trevor Butterworth 
