05-2-2 – Mental Health Screening


Action Alert on Mental Health Screening


Urgent
EdAction Alert —
February 2, 2005

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Time Sensitive: Action Alert on mental health screening

Please use the following information to contact your two U.S. Senators
and your member of Congress today. It is very important that you urge them
to attend the Capitol Briefing next Tuesday, February 8th at noon. RSVP’s
are needed by the end of the day tomorrow.

To find your U.S. Senators and contact information, click
here.
To find your U.S. House member and contact information, click
here.

Our
update of December 13, 2004, stated:

“Despite media coverage by Dr. Laura, G.
Gordon Liddy, World Net Daily, News Max, many talk radio interviews
across the country, and thousands of calls and emails to Congress,
grants to fund the New Freedom Commission (NFC)  recommendations, which
include universal mental health screening and treatment with ineffective
and dangerous medications, were not stopped.  $20 million was
appropriated for state grants to implement the NFC recommendations.
Physician and  Congressman Pauls excellent language that required
parental consent for screening before these programs were funded was not
included. Dr. Paul wrote a letter signed by more than twenty Members
urging the parental consent language. House leadership, including
Speaker Hastert, Majority Leader DeLay, and Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman Regula accepted the Paul language. All of these House Members
and those that voted for the original amendment in September deserve our
thanks. (See our

update.) Sadly, that language protecting the basic right of
parental consent was dropped in the Senate.”

The scheduled congressional staff briefing
listed below will provide a high priority opportunity to communicate
directly with  members of Congress and their staff regarding these urgent
issues and current legislation. Dr. Effrem will spend three days in
Washington, DC next week on our behalf, meeting with many individuals and
groups. She will alert them to the dangers of universal mental health
screening in our schools and drug treatments recently admitted by the FDA to
be dangerous and ineffective in children.

Don’t miss this opportunity for your elected members of Congress to be
briefed on this issue! If they cannot come, urge their staff to attend.
Let them know how important it is to you that they understand this issue!

The following press release was distributed to the media today.

MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
 
 

Congressional Staff Briefing Scheduled on
Mental Health Screening
 

 
A congressional briefing sponsored by the Liberty Committee to raise
awareness of the mental health screening issue will be held next week at the
U.S. Capitol. Karen Effrem, M.D., a pediatrician and leading national critic
of mental health screening programs, will show Members of Congress and their
staff the dangers of  recommendations by the New Freedom Commission for
universal mental health screening and for treatment with drugs recently
admitted by the FDA to be dangerous and ineffective in children. Dr. Effrem
will also present information in support of HR 181, The Parental Consent
Act of 2005, sponsored by Congressman Ron Paul, that protects the
fundamental parental right of consent and stops the current funding for the
New Freedom Commission recommendations. Other speakers include psychiatrist,
Dr. Joseph Tarantolo of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry
and Psychology and Sue Blevins, a nurse and executive director of the
Institute for Health Freedom.
 
Details for the briefing are as follows:
 
Tuesday February 8th
12 noon to 1:00 p.m.
Cannon House Office Building, Room 311
Washington, DC
 
Lunch will be provided.
RSVP to Kent Snyder of the Liberty Committee at 703-276-2096 by Thursday
February 3rd at 5 PM.
 
Members of the US House and Senate are invited to attend. The briefing is
also open to the public and to the media.
 
Dr. Karen Effrem is a pediatrician who serves on the boards of four national
organizations: EdWatch, the Alliance for Human Research Protection, the
International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, and the
National Physicians Center. Dr. Effrem’s undergraduate degree is from Purdue
University in pharmacy, her medical degree is from Johns Hopkins University,
and her pediatric training is from the University of Minnesota. She has
provided testimony for Congress, as well as in-depth analysis of numerous
pieces of major federal education, health, and early childhood legislation
for congressional staff and many organizations.
 
For more information, contact:  Michael Ostrolenk at 301 717 0599 or Email
at mostrolenk@comcast.net.
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===============================================
EdAction is entirely user-supported. The continuation of our work is
dependent upon individual contributors. EdAction is a political action
committee. Contributions are not tax deductible. We promote the work of
EdWatch. If you want to ensure that our work continues, contact us here. If
you want to subscribe or unsubscribe to this EdAction e-mail service, mail
to: edaction@lakes.com. Put “subscribe” or “unsubscribe” in the SUBJECT of
the message.