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DOCUMENT SECTION

PRO-INFORMED CONSENT BILL
PENDING IN CONGRESS
24 September 2003

The Child Medication Safety Act of 2003 (S. 1390), which would give parents the legal right to choose whether or not their children will be given psychiatric drugs, is pending in the U.S. Senate H.E.L.P. Committee after the House passed it 425-1 on May 21. The bill is being sponsored by Senator John Ensign (R-NV). It is being supported by parent and human rights groups defending the right of parents to make informed, voluntary decisions about the health and educational needs of their children, including the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR).

Senator Ensign explained that the legislation is "designed to end the practice of forcing or coercing the [psychotropic} medication of children as a condition of attending school." He also said that "thousands of parents across the country are being forced to choose between medicating their children and removing them from school."

The Child Medication Safety Act requires each state to establish policies that prohibit public elementary and secondary school personnel from requiring a child to take psychiatric medication such as Ritalin, Adderall, Dexadrine or Prozac, all of which have significant side effects for some children, as a condition of attending school. "No parent should have to place his or her child on a drug that could cause increased blood pressure, weight loss, fatigue, mood swings or other side effects as a condition for providing that child an education. It is time for federal action to put on end to this harmful practice," said Ensign.

Representative Max Burns (R-GA) introduced the bill in the House. The bill can be viewed by going to http://thomas.loc.gov.

ACTION: Parents, who would like to have their Senators co-sponsor the bill in the Senate, can contact their senators by going to http://www.congress.org and typing in the home zip code to get their Senator's contact information. Copies of the letters sent to Senators should also go to:

Senator Judd Gregg, Chairman
Senate H.E.L.P. Committee
835 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
FAX: 202-224-6510

Senator Edward Kennedy, Ranking Member
Senate H.E.L.P. Committee
644 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
FAX: 202-224-5128

S. 1390 may come to a vote in the Senate H.E.L.P. Committee within two weeks. Families who want to make their voices heard on the right to make informed, voluntary medication decisions for their children should contact their Senators immediately.

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News@nvic.org is a free service of the National Vaccine Information Center and is supported through membership donations. Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed consent rights http://www.nvic.org.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It is about time that Congress does something about the situation taking place in our public schools, where teachers quite commonly try to force parents to give their children Ritalin, even in schools where the top administrators insist that teachers are 1) not allowed to do that, and 2) where the school district will allow parents to make such a decision on their own without force.
Allan B. Colombo, Publisher

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Thank you. --Al Colombo


Allan B. Colombo
Copyright©2003



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