MANDATORY MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT: YAY OR NAY?

http://www.petitiononline.com/rppca/petition.html



Ron Paul began a petition to support “The Parental Consent Act’, a federal bill
prohibiting federal funds to be used to establish a mandatory or universal mental
health/psychiatric screening of schoolchildren. “It also establishes a parent's
right to refuse mental health screening of their child. This is a crucial bill
which must be passed to guarantee parental rights.”

This bill protects the fundamental right of parents to direct and control the upbringing and education of their children.

“New Freedom Commission on Mental Health” is promoting a mental-health
screening for all Americans and mandating that mental-health screening first be
implemented in public schools. It does
not require parental consent before a child is subjected to mental-health
screening. This can lead to labeling more children as "ADD" or
"hyperactive" and even force children to take psychotropic drugs,
such as Ritalin, against their parents' wishes.

Already, too many children are suffering from being prescribed psychotropic
drugs for nothing more than children's typical rambunctious behavior. According
to Medco Health Solutions, more than 2.2 million children are receiving more
than one psychotropic drug at one time. In fact, according to Medico Trends, in
2003, total spending on psychiatric drugs for children exceeded spending on
antibiotics or asthma medication.

Many children have suffered harmful side effects from using psychotropic drugs.
Some of the possible side effects include mania, violence, dependence, and
weight gain. Yet, parents are already being threatened with child abuse charges
if they resist efforts to drug their children. Imagine how much easier it will
be to drug children against their parents' wishes if a federally-funded
mental-health screener makes the recommendation.”

DO YOU SUPPORT MANDATORY HEALTH SCREENING OF SCHOOLCHILDREN WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT?