Definitions

The following terms used in 130 CMR 485.000 have the meanings given in 130 CMR 485.402 unless the context clearly requires a different meaning. Institutionalized Individual – an individual who is (1) involuntarily confined or detained, under a civil or criminal statute in a correctional or rehabilitative facility, including a psychiatric hospital or other facility for the care and treatment of mental illness; or (2) confined, under a voluntary commitment, in a psychiatric hospital or other facility for the care and treatment of mental illness. Mentally Incompetent Individual – an individual who has been declared mentally incompetent by a federal, state, or local court of competent jurisdiction for any purpose, unless the individual has been declared competent for purposes that include the ability to consent to sterilization. Sterilization – any medical procedure, treatment, or operation for the purpose of rendering an individual permanently incapable of reproducing.