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2005 Ron Paul Chapter 1
Not linked on Ron Paul’s Congressional website.
Congressional Record [.PDF]
Introducing The Parental Consent Act
4 January 2005
HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
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Mr. PAUL. Mr. 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.
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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.
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Already, too many children are suffering from being prescribed psychotropic drugs for
nothing more than children’s typical rambunctious
behavior. According to the Journal of the
American Medical Association, there was a
300-percent increase in psychotropic drug use
in two- to four-year-old children from 1991 to
1995.
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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.
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Imagine how much easier it will be to drug children against their parents’ wishes if a federally-
funded mental-health screener makes
the recommendation.
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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.”
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Mr. 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.
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