Doctors Group Opposes Mandatory Mental Health Tests for Kids
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004

Under new law being considered, the federal government would require
that every child in America undergo psychological screening and
receive recommended treatment, including drug therapies.

Next week the Senate re-convenes to consider an omnibus
appropriations bill that includes funding for grants to implement
mandatory universal mental health screening for almost 60 million
children, pregnant women, and adults through schools and pre-schools.
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But officials of the respected Association of American Physicians &
Surgeons (AAPS) decry what they see as "a dangerous scheme that will
heap even more coercive pressure on parents to medicate children with
potentially dangerous side effects."

One of the most "dangerous side effects" from anti-depressants
commonly prescribed to children is suicide, regarding which AAPS
added, "Further, even the government's own task force has concluded
that mental health screening does little to prevent suicide."


The bill would fund initiatives of the "New Freedom Commission on
Mental Health," including a program designed to subject every school
age child in the country to psychological testing and recommendations
for treatment. The House has already voted to appropriate $20 million
for the plan, and the Senate will be considering whether to bump it
up to $44 million.


Last September, AAPS lifetime member Rep. Ron Paul, M.D., R-Tex.,
tried to stop the plan by offering an amendment to the Labor, HHS,
and Education Appropriations Act for FY 2005. The amendment received
95 "yes" votes, but it failed to pass.

Paul tells NewsMax: "At issue is the fundamental right of parents to
decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children. The
notion of federal bureaucrats ordering potentially millions of
youngsters to take psychotropic drugs like Ritalin strikes an
emotional chord with American parents, who are sick of relinquishing
more and more parental control to government.

"Once created, federal programs are nearly impossible to eliminate.
Anyone who understands bureaucracies knows they assume more and more
power incrementally. A few scattered state programs over time will be
replaced by a federal program implemented in a few select cities.
Once the limited federal program is accepted, it will be expanded
nationwide. Once in place throughout the country, the screening
program will become mandatory.

"Soviet communists attempted to paint all opposition to the state as
mental illness. It now seems our own federal government wants to
create a therapeutic nanny state, beginning with schoolchildren. It's
not hard to imagine a time 20 or 30 years from now when government
psychiatrists stigmatize children whose religious, social, or
political values do not comport with those of the politically
correct, secular state.

"American parents must do everything they can to remain responsible
for their children's well-being. If we allow government to become
intimately involved with our children's minds and bodies, we will
have lost the final vestiges of parental authority. Strong families
are the last line of defense against an overreaching bureaucratic
state."

"Congressman Paul and several of his colleagues will never give up,"
adds an AAPS spokesperson. "He and his colleagues have drafted a
letter to Chairman Ralph Regula, chairman of the House Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations, asking
for his help."


The letter states in part:


"We respectfully request that the following language be included in
the final committee report on the Labor, Health and Human Services,
and Education Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2005, or any report
accompanying an omnibus bill containing the Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education appropriations for fiscal year 2005:


`None of the funds made available for State incentive grants for
transformation should be used for any programs of mandatory or
universal mental-health screening that performs mental-health
screening on anyone under 18 years of age without the express,
written permission of the parents or legal guardians of each
individual involved.'"


By way of background: in April 2002, President George W. Bush created
the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Its objective was to
enhance mental health services to those in need.


Among other things, the commission concluded that there is a need to
search for mental disorders – especially in children – and the best
way to do this was with mandatory mental health screening for
everyone, starting with preschoolers.


According to the Commission's 2003 report: "Quality screening and
early intervention should occur in readily accessible, low-stigma
settings, such as primary health care facilities and schools."

The report goes on to say: "...the extent, severity, and far-reaching
consequences make it imperative that our Nation adopt a
comprehensive, systemic approach to improving the mental health
status of children."


However, critics of the plan suggest that the random testing of
millions of people makes little sense to anyone but the drug
companies that will stand to profit from the potential customers.


The New Freedom Commission's proposed treatment programs are based on
the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP). TMAP, which was first
used in Texas in 1996 and has since expanded to other states, is a
set of very specific medication recommendations – most of them new,
expensive, psychotropic drugs.


Despite the criticisms, the White House has remained solid behind the
testing initiative, noting that the commission found that schools are
in a "key position" to influence the phenomena of young children
being "expelled from preschools and childcare facilities for severely
disruptive behaviors and emotional disorders."


But detractors are just as adamant that "problem" children in schools
are readily identifiable, making the universal testing an unnecessary
tool that does nothing but infringe on a parent's right to make
decisions regarding their child's welfare.

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