Congress Funds Mandatory Psychological
Tests for Kids
Newsmax | November 23 2004
One of the nation's leading medical groups,
the Association of American Physicians &
Surgeons (AAPS), decried a move by
the U.S. Senate to join with the House in
funding a federal program AAPS says will
lead to mandatory psychological testing of
every child in America � without the consent
of parents.
When the Senate considered an omnibus
appropriations bill last week that included
funding for grants to implement universal
mental health screening for almost 60
million children, pregnant women and adults
through schools and pre-schools, it
approved $20 million of the $44 million sought,
Kathryn Serkes, public affairs counsel for
AAPS, told NewsMax.
This $20 million matches a like amount
already approved by the House, Serkes advised.
While the funding cut of some $24 million was
a little good news, suggested Serkes, whose
organization has zealously opposed
the the measure, she said the organization
was most worried about the failure of Congress
to include �parental consent� language sought
by the AAPS.
Last September, AAPS lifetime member Rep. Ron
Paul, M.D., R-Texas, tried to stop the plan
in its tracks 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.
According to Serkes, Paul is now mulling
offering stand-alone legislation in the next
session to once again try and get a
provision for parental consent.
The federal bill on its face does not require
mandatory mental health testing to be imposed
upon states or local schools,
explained Serkes.
However, the HHS appropriations bill contains
block grant money that will likely be used �
as is often the case with block
funding � by the various states to implement
mandatory psychological testing programs for
all students in the school system.
The spending bill has its roots in the
recommendations of the New Freedom Commission
on Mental Health, created by President Bush
in 2002 to propose ways of eliminating waste
and improve efficiency and effectiveness of
the mental health care delivery system.
Although the report does not specifically
recommend screening all students, it does
suggest that �schools are in a key position
to identify the mental health problems early
and to provide a link to appropriate services.�
The bottom line, explained Serkes, is that a
state receiving money under this appropriation
will likely make its mental testing of kids
mandatory � and not be out of synch with
the federal enactment.
The other telling point, said Serkes, is that
although the relatively minimal funding at this
point is certainly not enough to fund
mandatory mental testing for kids countrywide,
it�s an ominous start:
�Once it�s established and has funding, a
program exhibits the nettlesome property of
being self-sustaining � it gets a life of its
own. More funding follows.�
Officials of the AAPS decry in the measure
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
antidepressants 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.�
Meanwhile, Rep. Paul says the mental testing
scheme is a looming feature of "Big Brother"
that if unchecked will push parental
rights out of the picture:
�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 prpgram 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.�
--
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