Support Ron Amendment to Cut Funds for Mental Health Screening

>

> FYI & Immediate Action

>

> URGENT ALERT!! SUPPORT THE RON PAUL AMENDMENT TO CUT OFF FUNDS FOR MENTAL

> HEALTH SCREENING

> R. Effrem, MD

> EdAction Board of Directors

>

> Physician and Republican Congressman Ron will offer an amendment

> prohibiting funding for universal mental health screening programs to the

> Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriations bill to be

debated

> on the US House floor on Wednesday and Thursday, September 8th and 9th.

It

> is urgent that you call your Member of Congress and the House leadership

>

> TODAY with your support of the amendment:

> Find your Member of Congress at www.congress.org

> House Speaker Dennis Hastert: 202-225-2976

> House Majority Leader Tom DeLay: 202-225-5951

> House Majority Whip Roy Blunt: 202-225-6536

>

> EdAction strongly supports this type of amendment, as does a broad

coalition

> of education, family, and medical/mental health groups. The long list

> includes Eagle Forum, Concerned Women for America, the Association of

> American Physicians and Surgeons, Gun Owners of America, the Alliance for

> Human Research Protection, the International Center for the Study of

> Psychiatry and Psychology, and Freedom 21 .

>

> Universal mental health screening and the drugging of children, as

> recommended by the New Freedom Commission, needs to be stopped so that

many

> thousands if not millions of children will be saved from receiving

> stigmatizing diagnoses that would follow them for the rest of their lives.

> America's school children should not be medicated by expensive,

ineffective,

> and dangerous medications based on vague and dubious diagnoses.

>

> Use the following talking points. (For more details on each of these

points,

> 1) Parental rights are unclear or non-existent under these screening

> programs. - What are the rights of youth and their parents to refuse or

opt

> out of this screening? Will they face coercion and threats of removal

from

> school or child abuse/neglect charges if they refuse? How reliable are

the

> screening instruments? What if the diagnosis is wrong? How will a child

or

> adolescent remove a stigmatizing label from their records that could

follow

> them the rest of their lives? Will parents be honestly told about the

> potentially severe side effects of the medications used in treatment?

>

> 2) Parents are already being coerced to put their children on

> psychiatric medications and some children are dying because of it. -

> Universal screening and the accompanying treatments recommended by the New

> Freedom Commission will only increase that problem. Both and

> Shaina Dunkle died of medication toxicity after their parents were coerced

> to place their children on drugs by the schools. Across the country,

> Weathers, the Carroll Family, the ston Family, and the

Salazar

> Family were all charged or threatened with child abuse charges for

refusing

> or taking their children off of psychiatric medications.

>

> 3) Merging screening with the academic standards required by No Child

> Left Behind, as is happening in Illinois, will lead to diagnosis for

> political reasons. - School mental health and violence prevention programs

> funded by NCLB and government counterterrorism operations are already

using

> such criteria as " homophobia " and " defenders of the US Constitution

against

> federal government and the UN " to label school children and US citizens as

> mentally unstable and violent.

>

> 4) Mental health screening does not prevent suicide. - The U.S.

> Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against screening for

> suicide, saying, " USPSTF found no evidence that screening for suicide risk

> reduces suicide attempts or mortality. There is limited evidence on the

> accuracy of screening tools to identify suicide risk in the primary care

> setting, including tools to identify those at high risk. " (See

>

> 5) Mental health diagnoses are " subjective " and " social constructions "

> as admitted by the authors of the diagnostic manuals themselves.

>

> 6) Most psychiatric medications do not work in children - Medical

> textbooks, published and unpublished research, and government reports

> consistently state that the long term safety and effectiveness of

> antidepressants like Prozac and stimulants like Ritalin have yet to be

> proven.

>

> 7) The side effects of these medications in children are severe. - They

> include suicide, violence, psychosis, cardiac (heart) toxicity, growth

> suppression, and diabetes. Several school shooters, like

> (Columbine), Kip Kinkel (Oregon), and Hoffman (San Diego) were on

> antidepressants or stimulants or both at the time of their crimes.

>

> Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

> Tel: 212-595-8974

> e-mail: veracare@...

>

September 8, 2004

> ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)

> Promoting openness and full disclosure

>

> FYI & Immediate Action

>

> URGENT ALERT!! SUPPORT THE RON PAUL AMENDMENT TO CUT OFF FUNDS FOR MENTAL

> HEALTH SCREENING

> R. Effrem, MD

> EdAction Board of Directors

>

> Physician and Republican Congressman Ron will offer an amendment

> prohibiting funding for universal mental health screening programs to the

> Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriations bill to be

debated

> on the US House floor on Wednesday and Thursday, September 8th and 9th.

It

> is urgent that you call your Member of Congress and the House leadership

>

> TODAY with your support of the amendment:

> Find your Member of Congress at www.congress.org

> House Speaker Dennis Hastert: 202-225-2976

> House Majority Leader Tom DeLay: 202-225-5951

> House Majority Whip Roy Blunt: 202-225-6536

>

> EdAction strongly supports this type of amendment, as does a broad

coalition

> of education, family, and medical/mental health groups. The long list

> includes Eagle Forum, Concerned Women for America, the Association of

> American Physicians and Surgeons, Gun Owners of America, the Alliance for

> Human Research Protection, the International Center for the Study of

> Psychiatry and Psychology, and Freedom 21 .

>

> Universal mental health screening and the drugging of children, as

> recommended by the New Freedom Commission, needs to be stopped so that

many

> thousands if not millions of children will be saved from receiving

> stigmatizing diagnoses that would follow them for the rest of their lives.

> America's school children should not be medicated by expensive,

ineffective,

> and dangerous medications based on vague and dubious diagnoses.

>

> Use the following talking points. (For more details on each of these

points,

> 1) Parental rights are unclear or non-existent under these screening

> programs. - What are the rights of youth and their parents to refuse or

opt

> out of this screening? Will they face coercion and threats of removal

from

> school or child abuse/neglect charges if they refuse? How reliable are

the

> screening instruments? What if the diagnosis is wrong? How will a child

or

> adolescent remove a stigmatizing label from their records that could

follow

> them the rest of their lives? Will parents be honestly told about the

> potentially severe side effects of the medications used in treatment?

>

> 2) Parents are already being coerced to put their children on

> psychiatric medications and some children are dying because of it. -

> Universal screening and the accompanying treatments recommended by the New

> Freedom Commission will only increase that problem. Both and

> Shaina Dunkle died of medication toxicity after their parents were coerced

> to place their children on drugs by the schools. Across the country,

> Weathers, the Carroll Family, the ston Family, and the

Salazar

> Family were all charged or threatened with child abuse charges for

refusing

> or taking their children off of psychiatric medications.

>

> 3) Merging screening with the academic standards required by No Child

> Left Behind, as is happening in Illinois, will lead to diagnosis for

> political reasons. - School mental health and violence prevention programs

> funded by NCLB and government counterterrorism operations are already

using

> such criteria as " homophobia " and " defenders of the US Constitution

against

> federal government and the UN " to label school children and US citizens as

> mentally unstable and violent.

>

> 4) Mental health screening does not prevent suicide. - The U.S.

> Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against screening for

> suicide, saying, " USPSTF found no evidence that screening for suicide risk

> reduces suicide attempts or mortality. There is limited evidence on the

> accuracy of screening tools to identify suicide risk in the primary care

> setting, including tools to identify those at high risk. " (See

>

> 5) Mental health diagnoses are " subjective " and " social constructions "

> as admitted by the authors of the diagnostic manuals themselves.

>

> 6) Most psychiatric medications do not work in children - Medical

> textbooks, published and unpublished research, and government reports

> consistently state that the long term safety and effectiveness of

> antidepressants like Prozac and stimulants like Ritalin have yet to be

> proven.

>

> 7) The side effects of these medications in children are severe. - They

> include suicide, violence, psychosis, cardiac (heart) toxicity, growth

> suppression, and diabetes. Several school shooters, like

> (Columbine), Kip Kinkel (Oregon), and Hoffman (San Diego) were on

> antidepressants or stimulants or both at the time of their crimes.

>

> Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

> Tel: 212-595-8974

> e-mail: veracare@...

>

September 8, 2004

> ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)

> Promoting openness and full disclosure

>

> FYI & Immediate Action

>

> URGENT ALERT!! SUPPORT THE RON PAUL AMENDMENT TO CUT OFF FUNDS FOR MENTAL

> HEALTH SCREENING

> R. Effrem, MD

> EdAction Board of Directors

>

> Physician and Republican Congressman Ron will offer an amendment

> prohibiting funding for universal mental health screening programs to the

> Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriations bill to be

debated

> on the US House floor on Wednesday and Thursday, September 8th and 9th.

It

> is urgent that you call your Member of Congress and the House leadership

>

> TODAY with your support of the amendment:

> Find your Member of Congress at www.congress.org

> House Speaker Dennis Hastert: 202-225-2976

> House Majority Leader Tom DeLay: 202-225-5951

> House Majority Whip Roy Blunt: 202-225-6536

>

> EdAction strongly supports this type of amendment, as does a broad

coalition

> of education, family, and medical/mental health groups. The long list

> includes Eagle Forum, Concerned Women for America, the Association of

> American Physicians and Surgeons, Gun Owners of America, the Alliance for

> Human Research Protection, the International Center for the Study of

> Psychiatry and Psychology, and Freedom 21 .

>

> Universal mental health screening and the drugging of children, as

> recommended by the New Freedom Commission, needs to be stopped so that

many

> thousands if not millions of children will be saved from receiving

> stigmatizing diagnoses that would follow them for the rest of their lives.

> America's school children should not be medicated by expensive,

ineffective,

> and dangerous medications based on vague and dubious diagnoses.

>

> Use the following talking points. (For more details on each of these

points,

> 1) Parental rights are unclear or non-existent under these screening

> programs. - What are the rights of youth and their parents to refuse or

opt

> out of this screening? Will they face coercion and threats of removal

from

> school or child abuse/neglect charges if they refuse? How reliable are

the

> screening instruments? What if the diagnosis is wrong? How will a child

or

> adolescent remove a stigmatizing label from their records that could

follow

> them the rest of their lives? Will parents be honestly told about the

> potentially severe side effects of the medications used in treatment?

>

> 2) Parents are already being coerced to put their children on

> psychiatric medications and some children are dying because of it. -

> Universal screening and the accompanying treatments recommended by the New

> Freedom Commission will only increase that problem. Both and

> Shaina Dunkle died of medication toxicity after their parents were coerced

> to place their children on drugs by the schools. Across the country,

> Weathers, the Carroll Family, the ston Family, and the

Salazar

> Family were all charged or threatened with child abuse charges for

refusing

> or taking their children off of psychiatric medications.

>

> 3) Merging screening with the academic standards required by No Child

> Left Behind, as is happening in Illinois, will lead to diagnosis for

> political reasons. - School mental health and violence prevention programs

> funded by NCLB and government counterterrorism operations are already

using

> such criteria as " homophobia " and " defenders of the US Constitution

against

> federal government and the UN " to label school children and US citizens as

> mentally unstable and violent.

>

> 4) Mental health screening does not prevent suicide. - The U.S.

> Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against screening for

> suicide, saying, " USPSTF found no evidence that screening for suicide risk

> reduces suicide attempts or mortality. There is limited evidence on the

> accuracy of screening tools to identify suicide risk in the primary care

> setting, including tools to identify those at high risk. " (See

>

> 5) Mental health diagnoses are " subjective " and " social constructions "

> as admitted by the authors of the diagnostic manuals themselves.

>

> 6) Most psychiatric medications do not work in children - Medical

> textbooks, published and unpublished research, and government reports

> consistently state that the long term safety and effectiveness of

> antidepressants like Prozac and stimulants like Ritalin have yet to be

> proven.

>

> 7) The side effects of these medications in children are severe. - They

> include suicide, violence, psychosis, cardiac (heart) toxicity, growth

> suppression, and diabetes. Several school shooters, like

> (Columbine), Kip Kinkel (Oregon), and Hoffman (San Diego) were on

> antidepressants or stimulants or both at the time of their crimes.

>

> Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav

> Tel: 212-595-8974

> e-mail: veracare@...

>

September 8, 2004

> ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)

> Promoting openness and full disclosure

>

> FYI & Immediate Action

>

> URGENT ALERT!! SUPPORT THE RON PAUL AMENDMENT TO CUT OFF FUNDS FOR MENTAL

> HEALTH SCREENING

> R. Effrem, MD

> EdAction Board of Directors

>

> Physician and Republican Congressman Ron will offer an amendment

> prohibiting funding for universal mental health screening programs to the

> Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriations bill to be

debated

> on the US House floor on Wednesday and Thursday, September 8th and 9th.

It

> is urgent that you call your Member of Congress and the House leadership

>

> TODAY with your support of the amendment:

> Find your Member of Congress at www.congress.org

> House Speaker Dennis Hastert: 202-225-2976

> House Majority Leader Tom DeLay: 202-225-5951

> House Majority Whip Roy Blunt: 202-225-6536

>

> EdAction strongly supports this type of amendment, as does a broad

coalition

> of education, family, and medical/mental health groups. The long list

> includes Eagle Forum, Concerned Women for America, the Association of

> American Physicians and Surgeons, Gun Owners of America, the Alliance for

> Human Research Protection, the International Center for the Study of

> Psychiatry and Psychology, and Freedom 21 .

>

> Universal mental health screening and the drugging of children, as

> recommended by the New Freedom Commission, needs to be stopped so that

many

> thousands if not millions of children will be saved from receiving

> stigmatizing diagnoses that would follow them for the rest of their lives.

> America's school children should not be medicated by expensive,

ineffective,

> and dangerous medications based on vague and dubious diagnoses.

>

> Use the following talking points. (For more details on each of these

points,

> 1) Parental rights are unclear or non-existent under these screening

> programs. - What are the rights of youth and their parents to refuse or

opt

> out of this screening? Will they face coercion and threats of removal

from

> school or child abuse/neglect charges if they refuse? How reliable are

the

> screening instruments? What if the diagnosis is wrong? How will a child

or

> adolescent remove a stigmatizing label from their records that could

follow

> them the rest of their lives? Will parents be honestly told about the

> potentially severe side effects of the medications used in treatment?

>

> 2) Parents are already being coerced to put their children on

> psychiatric medications and some children are dying because of it. -

> Universal screening and the accompanying treatments recommended by the New

> Freedom Commission will only increase that problem. Both and

> Shaina Dunkle died of medication toxicity after their parents were coerced

> to place their children on drugs by the schools. Across the country,

> Weathers, the Carroll Family, the ston Family, and the

Salazar

> Family were all charged or threatened with child abuse charges for

refusing

> or taking their children off of psychiatric medications.

>

> 3) Merging screening with the academic standards required by No Child

> Left Behind, as is happening in Illinois, will lead to diagnosis for

> political reasons. - School mental health and violence prevention programs

> funded by NCLB and government counterterrorism operations are already

using

> such criteria as " homophobia " and " defenders of the US Constitution

against

> federal government and the UN " to label school children and US citizens as

> mentally unstable and violent.

>

> 4) Mental health screening does not prevent suicide. - The U.S.

> Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against screening for

> suicide, saying, " USPSTF found no evidence that screening for suicide risk

> reduces suicide attempts or mortality. There is limited evidence on the

> accuracy of screening tools to identify suicide risk in the primary care

> setting, including tools to identify those at high risk. " (See