Haley Moss on Britney Spear’s Conservatorship

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Much has been speculated about Britney’s mental health, including that she has bipolar disorder, a mental health disability and form of neurodivergence characterized by shifts in moods, energy and activity levels, and ability to perform day-to-day tasks. We don’t know her specific diagnoses, nor do they really matter. What we do know is that she is one of an estimated 1.5 million adults under a conservatorship or guardianship, according to AARP. According to the ACLU, people only end up under conservatorships if they are assessed as having some type of disability, making Britney’s case a disability rights issue.

Under conservatorship, disabled adults face restrictions on a wide variety of rights: Where they live, when and where they work, money management, and healthcare decisions. Conservatorships are often thought of as something that only happens to elderly people who can no longer care for themselves, people with terminal illnesses, or for people like me, who are diagnosed with autism or other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Because of the sensitive nature, proceedings relating to conservatorship are often private and confidential.

That was the case for Britney up until June 23, when we heard her testimony that she was put on medications she didn't want to be on, was unable to marry her boyfriend, and wasn't allowed to remove her IUD when she wanted to get pregnant. All of this is horrifying, but it also illustrates the lack of self-determination and agency disabled adults face under conservatorships, typically without the public batting an eye.

Sometimes I think about how, as an autistic person, I am extremely lucky that guardianship was not part of my adult life. I was once non-speaking and it was unclear what kind of support I would need as an adult. The support I needed as a little kid is not the same I needed as a college student, nor is that the same as the support I can use in my post-schooling life.