Parents Worry About Prescription Drugs, Too
Phyllis Schlafly, perhaps the most famous Conservative Female in America, has fearlessly taken on Big Pharma once again, in this recent post:
“Since labeling kids ADHD brings more money to the schools, it’s not surprising that schools often pressure parents to get an ADHD diagnosis and put their child on Ritalin. School have also found it useful to deal with behavioral and discipline problems by giving boys a drug to get them to sit down, shut up, and do what they’re told.
The Food and Drug Administration reported on February 8 that 25 people died (including 19 children) and 54 suffered serious cardiovascular problems after taking drugs prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) between 1999 and 2003. An FDA advisory panel finally voted in favor of requiring the famous “black box” warning on these drugs.
Instead of dealing with the over-prescription of drug cocktails for children, our government is telling us we have a mental health crisis, and the remedy is universal mental health screening. A major government campaign is now underway, sweetened with federal grants, to subject all children to mental health screening.
The screening usually means having the child fill out a survey about his own behavior. If his answers don’t comport with what the so-called experts want, the kid can be referred for treatment, and treatment usually includes medication.
It’s up to parents to stop this unscientific, ineffective, and dangerous government intrusion into the minds and values of our children. State laws should require parental consent for all mental health screening, and Congress should pass the Child Medication Safety Act, to prohibit schools from denying entry to a child whose parents choose not to put him on drugs.”
