Forced mental screening hits roadblock...

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Forced mental screening hits roadblock in House

Rep. Ron Paul seeks to yank program, decries use of drugs on children

 

 

By Ron Strom

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

 

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, plans to offer an

amendment in the House of Representatives today

that would remove from an appropriations bill a

new mandatory mental-health screening program for

America's children.

 

" The American tradition of parents deciding what

is best for their children is, yet again, under

attack, " writes Kent Snyder of the Paul-founded

Liberty Committee. " The pharmaceutical industry

has convinced President Bush to support mandatory

mental-health screening for every child in

America, including preschool children, and the

industry is now working to convince Congress as

well. "

 

As WorldNetDaily reported, the New Freedom

Initiative recommends screening not only for

children but eventually for every American. The

initiative came out of the New Freedom Commission

on Mental Health, which President Bush

established in 2002.

 

Critics of the plan say it is a thinly veiled

attempt by drug companies to provide a wider

market for high-priced antidepressants and

antipsychotic medication, and puts government in

areas of Americans' lives where it does not

belong.

 

Writes Snyder: " The real payoff for the drug

companies is the forced drugging of children that

will result - as we learned tragically with

Ritalin - even when parents refuse. "

 

Paul's amendment to the Labor, HHS and Education

Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005 would

take the new program out of the funding bill.

 

The congressman, who is known for his strict

adherence to the Constitution, wrote in a letter

to his colleagues: " As you know, psychotropic

drugs are increasingly prescribed for children

who show nothing more than children's typical

rambunctious behavior. Many children have

suffered harmful effects from these drugs. Yet

some parents have even been charged with child

abuse for refusing to drug their children. The

federal government should not promote national

mental-health screening programs that will force

the use of these psychotropic drugs such as

Ritalin. "

 

The New Freedom Commission found that " despite

their prevalence, mental disorders often go

undiagnosed " and recommended comprehensive

mental-health screening for " consumers of all

ages, " including preschool children.

 

The commission said, " Each year, young children

are expelled from preschools and childcare

facilities for severely disruptive behaviors and

emotional disorders. "

 

Schools, the panel concluded, are in a " key

position " to screen the 52 million students and 6

million adults who work at the schools.

 

The state of Illinois has already approved its

own mental-health screening program, the

Children's Mental Health Act of 2003, which will

provide screening for " all children ages 0-18 "

and " ensure appropriate and culturally relevant

assessment of your children's social and

emotional development with the use of

standardized tools. "

 

Members of the Illinois Children's Mental Health

Partnership have held several public hearings on

the program in recent months, hearing from

parents and others who oppose the mandatory

screening.

 

Karen R. Effrem, M.D., is a physician and

leading opponent of mandatory screening. She is

on the board of directors of EdWatch, an

organization that actively opposes federal

control of education.

 

" I am concerned, especially in the schools, that

mental health could be used as a wedge for

diagnosis based on attitudes, values, beliefs and

political stances - things like perceived

homophobia, " Effrem told WorldNetDaily.

 

" There are several violence-prevention programs

that do say if a person is homophobic, they could

be considered potentially violent. "

 

Continued Effrem: " This mental-health program

could be used as an enforcement tool to impose a

very politically correct, anti-American

curriculum. "

 

Effrem emphasized the new program has no

guarantees of parental rights, noting some

children have died because parents were coerced

to put their kids on psychiatric medications.

 

Snyder says the following groups have come out

in opposition to the screening program: Eagle

Forum, Gun Owners of America, the Association of

American Physicians and Surgeons, Concerned Women

of America, Freedom 21, the Alliance for Human

Research Protection, and the International Center

for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology.

 

A screening program in Paul's home state began

nearly ten years ago. The Texas Medication

Algorithm Project, or TMAP, was held up by the

New Freedom Commission as a " model " medication

treatment plan that " illustrates an

evidence-based practice that results in better

consumer outcomes. "

 

The TMAP - started in 1995 as an alliance of

individuals from the pharmaceutical industry, the

University of Texas and the mental health and

corrections systems of Texas - also was praised

by the American Psychiatric Association, which

called for increased funding to implement the

overall plan.

 

But the Texas project sparked controversy when a

Pennsylvania government employee revealed state

officials with influence over the plan had

received money and perks from drug companies who

stand to gain from it.

 

Allen Jones, an employee of the Pennsylvania

Office of the Inspector General says in his

whistleblower report the

" political/pharmaceutical alliance " that

developed the Texas project, which promotes the

use of newer, more expensive antidepressants and

antipsychotic drugs, was behind the

recommendations of the New Freedom Commission,

which were " poised to consolidate the TMAP effort

into a comprehensive national policy to treat

mental illness with expensive, patented

medications of questionable benefit and deadly

side effects, and to force private insurers to

pick up more of the tab. "

 

Jones points out, according to a British Medical

Journal report, companies that helped start the

Texas project are major contributors to Bush's

re-election. Also, some members of the New

Freedom Commission have served on advisory boards

for these same companies, while others have

direct ties to TMAP.

 

 

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