SPEECH
OF
HON. RON
PAUL
OF
TEXAS
IN
THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009
Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise
to introduce the Parental Consent Act. This bill forbids Federal funds from
being used for any universal or mandatory mental-health screening of students
without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of their parents or
legal guardians. This bill protects the fundamental right of parents to direct
and control the upbringing and education of their children.
The New
Freedom Commission on Mental Health has recommended that the federal and state
governments work toward the implementation of a comprehensive system of
mental-health screening for all Americans. The commission recommends that
universal or mandatory mental-health screening first be implemented in public
schools as a prelude to expanding it to the general public. However, neither the
commission's report nor any related mental-health screening proposal requires
parental consent before a child is subjected to mental-health screening.
Federally-funded universal or mandatory mental-health screening in schools
without parental consent could lead to labeling more children as ``ADD'' or
``hyperactive'' and thus force more 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.
Universal or mandatory mental-health screening could also
provide a justification for stigmatizing children from families that support
traditional values. Even the authors of mental-health diagnosis manuals admit
that mental-health diagnoses are subjective and based on social constructions.
Therefore, it is all too easy for a psychiatrist to label a person's
disagreement with the psychiatrist's political beliefs a mental disorder. For
example, a federally-funded school violence prevention program lists
``intolerance'' as a mental problem that may lead to school violence. Because
``intolerance'' is often a code word for believing in traditional values,
children who share their parents' values could be labeled as having mental
problems and a risk of causing violence. If the mandatory mental-health
screening program applies to adults, everyone who believes in traditional values
could have his or her beliefs stigmatized as a sign of a mental disorder.
Taxpayer dollars should not support programs that may label those who adhere to
traditional values as having a ``mental disorder.''
Madam Speaker,
universal or mandatory mental-health screening threatens to undermine parents'
right to raise their children as the parents see fit. Forced mental-health
screening could also endanger the health of children by leading to more children
being improperly placed on psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, or stigmatized
as ``mentally ill'' or a risk of causing violence because they adhere to
traditional values. Congress has a responsibility to the nation's parents and
children to stop this from happening. I, therefore, urge my colleagues to
cosponsor the Parental Consent Act.