The New Mexico Senate has passed a proposal that would require some New Mexico residents with severe mental illness to receive court-ordered outpatient treatment.
The Democratic-led Senate voted 29-9 to approve a bill that orders some patients to participate in assisted outpatient treatment if the court finds that the patients are a danger to themselves and others.
Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, who is co-sponsoring the bill, says it's "like a modified version" of the New York's Kendra's law.
That measure was named after Kendra Webdale, a 32-year-old woman who was pushed in front of an oncoming subway train in 1999 by a man battling untreated schizophrenia.
New Mexico is one of only five states without a similar law.
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