Distinctions must be made between the positive intent of certain legislation and the negative backlash which this legislation can create for those persons it is intended to help and protect. Recent laws have been passed, for example, requiring physicians to obtain a patient's consent before treatment can begin and to provide sufficient information to the patient so that he can make an intelligent decision. Problems arise, however, when the patient does not have the capacity to consent or if the patient is institutionalized and, therefore, conditioned to obey officers in charge, or is of "lower"socioeconomic status and lacks knowledge of legal recourse. The field of children's legislation, also, provides a wealth of examples to support the thesis that the intent and reality of certain legislation are not congruent. Children are now entitled to due process in the school system and can abuse enlightened parents, teachers, and other professionals concerned with their education if youth stress their individual rights at the expense of the rights of others. Fundamentally, these findings suggest that since laws are made and implemented by human beings and since much of the difficulty and confusion resulting in legislative backlash is due to a perspective involving operationalism, those persons working in public service professions must be committed to live by a higher standard than that of the law. (Author/DDB)